


Of booty shorts and Injuries

by Queerklancing



Series: Of booty shorts and Injuries [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Cuddling & Snuggling, Getting Together, It's basically love at first sight, Keith is too hot, Kissing, Lance is too pretty, M/M, Pining, Slow Burn, There's an ice hockey play now, also I'm jumping on the Ice Hockey Player Keith bandwaggon, they are both weak
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-05
Updated: 2017-02-17
Packaged: 2018-08-29 05:11:04
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 23,862
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8476609
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Queerklancing/pseuds/Queerklancing
Summary: Keith is sure that he’s having a heart attack. Or that he hurt his brain when he fell earlier. Because it’s simply not possible that the boy who’s sitting next to him is not a hallucination. How could someone so gorgeous just sit in an emergency room at night?"Keith and Lance unexpectantly meet at the emergency room in the middle of the night.





	1. Of booty shorts and injuries

**Author's Note:**

> This story was inspired by my own life. Because Lance's story is mine and it was just too stupid to not turn it into a story. Well I dind't meet a cute guy, but I did meet an injured Hockey player! :D This story was supposed to be really short, but I feel like I'm not done with these two yet. So I think it's possible that there's more to come! :D Since english is not my first language I'm always happy to get constructive criticism on my writing! Thanks! :)
> 
> Also: PLEASE talk to me on Tumblr :D [@queerklancing](https://queerklancing.tumblr.com/)
> 
> EDIT: I comissioned a BEAUTIFUL piece of art for this fic and I couldn't be any happier with it!! Look at it [HERE](http://salamandraimoral.tumblr.com/post/169667931062/heres-a-commission-i-did-for-the-wonderful)

Lance puts down the magazine he was reading and lets out a deep breath. So, this is what his life is like now. He reaches up to touch his ear and winces. Yes, it still hurts. And it’s still bleeding like crazy. “Shit,” Lance mutters under his breath.

It’s almost Midnight and here he is at the emergency room, bleeding from his left ear. Lance lets out another deep sigh, and the old man next to him glares in his direction. Lance pulls a face and stares down at the magazine, but he isn’t reading anything. Why did Hunk choose now of all weekends to stay with his long-distance girlfriend Shay? He could use some company now. Well at least he’s not crying anymore.

Suddenly the door opens and another stretcher is being pushed into the Emergency room of the ENT- department. Lance groans. Why?! It seems like every person in this damn town decided to get their nose broken tonight. It’s already the third emergency that came in since Lance is there. He leans his head back onto the wall and flinches at the pain in his ear. This is the worst night ever.

Lance takes out his phone to give Hunk another update on his situation. He glances up at the other patients waiting in the room. He’s going to be here for at least another two hours. The door opens again and Lance doesn’t even bother to look up from his phone.

He feels how someone sits down next to him and invades his personal space. Great. Lance looks up, a mean comment on his lips but sees that the guy next to him is wearing a bulky Ice Hockey uniform. So, he’s not actually doing it on purpose. Lance still has a second to think that the guy looks uncomfortable when he turns to him.

“Sorry.”

Lance’s brain stops working.

He is _beautiful._

He looks sweaty and exhausted, but he is still stunningly beautiful. His dark hair is pulled into a messy ponytail, and Lance’s eyes follow a single drop of sweat that is running down his pale throat.  He has thick eyebrows that are pulled together in a frown and grey eyes with a hint of purple in them and, oh shit, Lance has been staring.

“Ah! Yes, I mean, it’s fine!”

 _Smooth_ , Lance thinks and cringes at his own words. Apparently, he also forgot how to speak. The pretty boy doesn’t seem to mind and just smiles politely and a little bit awkward. Lance takes a deep breath and this time he tries not to stare. Well, he tries not to be obvious about it at least.

Lance ogles his seat neighbor and is not subtle at all. Well, that’s just how Lance is. Lance’s heart skips a beat when he catches the boy looking at him as well. Those grey eyes dart down and the boy raises his eyebrows in surprise.

Fuck.

Lance _really_ should have changed before he left the house. But he was so terrified when his ear wouldn’t stop bleeding that he just left like this. Wearing an Oversize Shirt, which was okay, but there are his shorts. His tiny booty shorts.

Lance feels the heat creeping up his face and pulls at the hem of his _really_ short pants. He looks up only to see the boy staring at his legs. It might be possible that he just imagines it, but Lance swears that there is a faint blush on the boy’s face when he clears his throat audible and scratches his neck. Lance feels a smile tug at the corner of his lips and a satisfied feeling flutters in his stomach. Maybe it’s not going to be the most horrible night he ever had.

 

* * *

 

Keith is sure that he’s having a heart attack. Or that he hurt his brain when he fell earlier. Because it’s simply not possible that the boy who’s sitting next to him is not a hallucination. How could someone so gorgeous just sit in an emergency room at night?

Keith’s head is spinning and he hopes that no one can see the blush that’s spreading on his cheeks. The other boy is tugging at the hem of his shorts again and, yes, Keith is sure that he died on the ice and the ambulance brought him right to heaven. He risks another glance and oh god those _legs_. He’s sure that those are the longest legs he’s ever seen. All sleek muscles and tan skin. And, okay if he doesn’t focus on anything else right now, he’s probably going to combust.

So, Keith briefly glances at his face just to get attracted by blue eyes and a lopsided grin. Yeah, this isn’t helpful at _all._ Keith is almost drowning in those delicate features, the fine nose, the distinctive line of his chin. _Fuck, stop staring at him!_ Keith thinks and turns his attention desperately to his injury.

Apparently, Lance was so distracted by the other’s face that he only now notices the bloody cloth Keith is pressing to his left ear. It looks nasty, and Lance opens his mouth to ask him what happened when Keith takes the cloth down to look at it.

“OH MY GOD YOUR EAR IS CUT IN HALF!”

Lance presses his hands to his mouth, but the words are out and everyone is staring at him. Especially the boy in question who is looking at him with wide eyes.

“Oh my god, I’m sorry. But... like… your ear is cut in half,” Lance babbles, quietly this time, and stares at the wound that Keith quickly covers with the cloth.

“Yeah, I know. Thanks.”

“Oh god, I didn’t mean to... I …”

_Great, Lance. You messed up again._

“I guess it really looks bad, huh?”

Lance is slowly lowering his hands that are still tugging at his mouth. “What happened?”

Keith pulls a face and shifts so he’s facing Lance.

“There was an accident at my Ice Hockey game. Someone tackled me, I fell and someone walked right over me with his skates and… this happened.” Keith gestures to his ear with his other hand.

Lance takes a sharp breath and shudders. “Shit, that must’ve hurt like hell!” He pulls a face at the thought. “But why are you here?!”

Keith raises an eyebrow in question.

Lance waves his hands with dismay. “I mean, why do you have to wait here? Any normal person would think that it’s pretty damn serious if your fucking ear is sliced into pieces!”

Keith can’t help but smile when he sees how upset the other boy seems.

“Nah, it’s fine, it doesn’t even hurt.”

Lance blinks in surprise and lowers his hands. “Are you serious? Honestly, it looks pretty nasty.”

Keith chuckles.

“Really, it doesn’t hurt that much. I guess I had worse injuries than this one.”

Keith is not sure, but he thinks he sees something like admiration spreading on the other’s face.

Lance can’t help it. He feels a hot sensation bubbling in the pit of his stomach. Lance knows that Ice Hockey is a brutal sport, he just never thought he would think it’s kind of sexy too. However, he already knew that he had… a _thing_ for strong guys. And that guy sure as hell looks like he could easily _manhandle_ him. Lance feels arousal shiver down his spine and decides that this is NOT the right moment or place to get stupidly horny.

Instead, Lance takes a second to really look at the Ice Hockey uniform Keith is wearing. “Voltron Defenders. Is that your team?”

“Yeah.”

“I think I heard that name before.”

A proud grin is spreading on Keith’s face and Lance stomach does a flip.

“We’re pretty good so I guess you might’ve heard of us.”

“Kogane,” Lance mutters out loud when he reads the name that’s written on his chest.

“Keith Kogane, that’s me.”

 _Smart, who else could it be?_ Keith thinks, but his world is tilted upside down the next instant.

“Nice. My name’s Lance.”

And then Lance smiles and Keith can’t breathe. It’s a wide smile that takes over his whole face, that makes his eyes go all soft. Keith is sure that this smile just lit up the room or maybe he really _really_ hit his head too hard. Or maybe these are symptoms of something else entirely.

Keith clears his throat, but his voice still sounds funny when he speaks.

“So why are you here?”

Lance’s smile dies immediately and the corner of his mouth twitches down. But then he sights and turns his head to the right so Keith can see his left ear. A small trail of blood is running down his earlobe and Keith tries not to think anything inappropriate when he sees the way Lance stretches his long neck.

“Shit. What happened?”

Lance turns around and softly wipes the blood away with his fingers. And… is he pouting?

“Okay, I’ll tell you, but you must promise me not to laugh!”

Keith decides that Lance is too adorable for his own good, and he can’t help the grin spreading on his face.

“You’re already laughing! Forget it, I won’t tell you!”

Lance turns around and crosses his arms in front of his chest.

“I won’t laugh! I promise!  I also told you what happened to me.”

Lance is still pouting and Keith tries his best not to laugh at the sight.

“Oh come on. I thought we had a bonding moment here.”

Apparently, that got Lance attention because Lance immediately whips around with a spark in his eyes and a wide smile on his face.

“Okay, so first you have to know that none of this is my fault. Actually, it’s Hunk’s fault. Hunk is my roommate.”

Lance starts to chatter right away. The story _is_ embarrassing but if Keith thought that they were bonding, he would gladly share it. He doesn’t know why, but he feels that he can trust Keith. For some reason, he immediately clicks with Keith.

“So Hunk has this cat. Her name’s Elizabeth 3rd, yeah I know, I just call her Elly. So anyway, she’s _enormou_ s but trust me she’s so sneaky it’s scary.”

Lance can feel his heart beating faster with every word he says because Keith is _listening._ Really listening to him, eyes glued to his lips and nodding along to signalize that he’s paying attention. Lance loves it. Lance talks a lot and he knows it. He understands if people are often annoyed with his nonstop chattering, so seeing Keith like this, seeing that he has fun listening to Lance, makes him more than happy.

“I was in the bathroom doing my usual night routine, taking a shower and cleaning my ears and stuff.” Lance takes a deep breath and rattles the rest of his story off as quickly as possible.

”And I had the Q-tip in my ear and I opened the door and Elly just jumped at me out of nowhere! And basically, I was so startled that I managed to ram the Q-Tip into my ear.”

There is a short instant of silence before Keith snorts with laughter.

“I knew it! You betrayed me!”

Lance dramatically throws his hands in the air. Keith tries to stifle his laughter but Lance seriously offended face makes it even harder to do so. But when Keith presses out a “Sorry” and starts laughing again, he hears Lance start to giggle as well until both are laughing tears.

 

* * *

 

 Well the thing is that, apparently, it’s considered inappropriate to have fun in an Emergency room and Keith and Lance get accusing stares that slowly silence their laughter. They decide it’s better to have a quieter conversation.

Keith tells Lance everything about his team and about theirs match tonight. Lance realizes that he also likes to listen to Keith, especially when he talks about something he loves. Lance can see the way his eyes light up and the pride he takes in his team. Keith tells him about Shiro, his amazing coach and friend, who had to retire from playing after he lost an arm in a car accident and Lance thinks that he already heard that story. Probably from Hunk.

“Yeah, I really admire this guy. He’s been through so much shit and yet he’s the most positive person I know.”

Lance can tell that Keith loves Shiro because his eyes have this fond look in them and there’s a soft affectionate smile on his lips.

“I can rely on him no matter what.”

Keith rubs his neck in embarrassment. Why is he telling this to a complete stranger? But Lance doesn’t seem to mind because his smile is soft and open.

“It’s good to have someone like that. For me that’s Hunk. He’s a big gentle marshmallow like guy and gives the best hugs in the world. I’m serious. Add that hug to your bucket list.”

So, he talks about Hunk and Pidge, who go to college with him and how he always manages to get them into trouble. He’s about to disclose another one of their glorious adventures when Lance notices that Keith seems absent-minded. His eyes keep on darting downward and he only hums in response.

“Keith? Are you listening? Is everything okay?”

Keith’s gaze darts up and he looks into Lance’s worried eyes.

“Hm?

He was, in fact, not listening. He feels the heat creeping onto his face. He’s too distracted. Those shorts were just cruel. It wasn’t his fault that his eyes were attracted to those unreasonable beautiful legs. And now he was caught staring.

“Sorry. I was … distracted.”

Lance raises an eyebrow.

“By what?”

“Your legs.”

Shit.

If Keith thought he was embarrassed, then that was nothing compared to the deep red blush that spreads across Lance’s face all at once. Keith can see how it splays all the way down to his chest, where his shirt reveals his sharp collarbones.

“You… what…!”

Lance is a sputtering mess and his fingers immediately fiddle with the hem of his shorts. Keith heart goes into overdrive.

“N-Not like that!” Yes, exactly like that. He imagined how the skin would feel under his fingers. How he runs his hands all the way up those long legs and under the hem of those ridiculous shorts. Okay, those thoughts were NOT helpful at all.

“I… mean I was thinking, uuuuh”, Keith stutters looking for an explanation, “do you … shave them?”

 _Nailed it,_ Keith thinks and hates himself for lying so obviously. Well it wasn’t exactly a lie.

Lance finally remembers how to breath. He still feels flustered and giddy and suddenly he has hope that Keith… might be attracted to him as well. Because, and Lance knows that he should know better, he’s certain that he has a tiny crush on Keith. Okay. More like a huge fucking crush. And Lance doesn’t know if he should fear those feelings, or embrace them. But, like most of the time in his life, his mouth is faster than his brain.

“Dude, of course I shave! Do you expect me to rock these booty shorts with hairy legs? Also, it makes my skin like ten times smoother! Feel it!”

And, before Keith can say anything and before Lance can think about what the hell he is _doing,_ he stretches his leg out straight in front of Keith’s face.

Keith on the other hand was not ready for this at all. Or maybe he was ready because his hand is on Lance’s leg in less than a second.

And Lance was right. His skin is so smooth Keith can’t believe it. He slowly caresses Lance’s leg, too fascinated by the softness of his skin to hesitate. His fingers slide easily down to his ankle and then all the way up to the back of his knee. His legs are not only soft but also strong with well-defined calf- muscle. Keith eyes wander further up. He wants to be suffocated by those tights. Keith swallows.

Lance twitches as he feels slightly calloused fingers roam over his skin. That … was a stupid idea. Keith face is awestruck as his hand explore Lance’s soft skin and Lance presses his fingers to his mouth so he won’t let out a weird sound. However, he can’t stop the shuddered breath that leaves his lips. His leg trembles under the soft touch and Keith seems to notice, because his eyes find Lance’s.

That seems to break the… whatever kind of weird moment they were having. Keith lifts his hand and backs away and Lance lowers his leg without saying a word. His mind is a mess and his leg is burning where Keith touched him.

 _Calm down, calm down, calm down!_ But Lance knows that it’s futile, when he looks at Keith who seems equally shaken by that experience.

“Well that was… something,” Lance laughs, trying to get rid of the weird atmosphere spreading between them. They were in an emergency room god damn it, that was hardly the place to flirt like that. _Oh, god. We’re flirting, aren’t we?_

“Sorry,” Keith mumbles for the second time today.

Keith doesn’t know how often he’s already cleared his throat tonight but he does it again in an attempt to regain some self-control. This is seriously bad. He was supposed to wait here until someone patches up his ear not… fall in love.

 _Wait, wait, wait! Love?!_ Keith’s head is spinning and suddenly he’s very aware of the pain pulsing in his ear.

“Your skin is really soft, though,” Keith croaks.

“Thanks.” Lance grins at him sheepishly and the weird moment is gone.

What does it matter if this situation is weird? Keith likes Lance. And he likes whatever this is between them, so he grins and scratches the back of his neck.

Ugh.

Suddenly Keith is painfully aware that he’s _gross._ His ponytail is a mess and his hair is sticking to his sweaty forehead. He sighs exhausted and rests his head against the wall.

For the first time in his life he wants to look good in front of someone. Keith wants to impress Lance and yet here is, sweaty in his bulky uniform, sitting next to the most beautiful men he’s ever seen in his life. And he sees Shiro every day. Keith pulls a face at the dull pain that’s still throbbing in his ear.

Lance watches him as he leans back. Keith licks his lips and Lance unconsciously copies the movement. Keith has a nice face. Lance’s eyes follow the strikingly sharp line of his jaw and the movement of his Adam’s apple as he swallows. His face is undeniable manly but his high cheekbones and long eyelashes give his features a feminine touch. Lance rubs his lips. This face makes him lose his mind.

But something is wrong. Keith breath is heavy and there’s a soft frown on his face.

“Hey, are you okay?” Lance reaches and gently brushes Keith’s arm to get his attention. Keith eyes flutter open at the touch. He looks at Lance from the corner of his eye and his face relaxes into a soft smile.

“Yeah, I’m fine. I just wish I could get out of this uniform.”

“Well, I guess that’s impossible with your ear like that.”

Lance voice has gone soft, and Keith can see the worry in his eyes. Lance’s hand is still touching his arm, and Keith doesn’t know if it’s a conscious move, but Lance rubs soothing circles into his skin.

“I bought something to drink earlier do you want some?”

Lance pulls back his hand, and gets the bottle of water he bought from the vending machine. He opens it for Keith, who still has one of his hands pressed to the bloody cloth on his ear, and hands him the bottle. Keith gratefully accepts it and takes a big gulp of water.

“Are you sure you’re okay? You look really pale.”

Lance’s eyebrows are knitted in worry and Keith can’t help but find it endearing. Keith gives him cocky smile.

“I told you, I had worse injuries. I’m tough.”

Lance chuckles and reaches up to brush a strand of hair out of Keith’s face.

“Well, Mr. Tough-guy, tell me if it gets worse so I can call someone before you faint.”

A warm and fuzzy feeling bubbles in Keith’s chest when he sees the fond look in Lance’s eyes. He’s not used to this. His teammates never treat him this gently. Injuries were normal for them so seeing someone actually worry about him was… nice.

Keith opens his mouth to say something but the nurse enters the room and Lance looks up when she says a name. It takes him a moment to react though.

“Oh! That’s me!”

Lance jumps from his seat and turns to wave at Keith, then he’s gone and Keith is met with silence.

 

* * *

 

He had forgotten. He had seriously forgotten that there was a reason both of them were here. Suddenly he notices that there are only a few people left in the room.

There’s a weird hollow feeling in his chest and he realizes that he feels lonely. Keith shakes his head and fishes his phone out of his pocket. At least he was smart enough to bring it with him.

There is a message from Shiro saying that they won the game and that he’s on his way to get him. Keith blinks in confusion. The game is already over? He checks the time and freezes. It’s been almost three hours since he came here. A surprised chuckle leaves his lips. He never thought that he spent so much time talking to Lance. Although it felt like an eternity at the same time.

He didn’t notice until now how quiet the Emergency room is without Lance’s chatter. Keith realizes that he already misses him. How can he feel so strongly about someone he just met today? It’s crazy, but Keith knows that he wants to talk to Lance more.

He types out a quick reply to Shiro, who tells him that he’ll be there in twenty minutes. Keith closes his eyes and leans back. It will be his turn soon. It’s weird, he’s not worried about his ear at all. Right now, the most urgent thing in his mind is to find a way to ask Lance for his phone number before he leaves.

He sees Lance’s smiling face behind his closed eyelids. He’s seriously fucked.  

“Hey, Tough-guy. I’m back.”

Keith opens his eyes to see Lance standing in front of him with a weird bandage around his head. Keith can’t help but snort at the sight and Lance kicks his shin.

“That was fast. What did they say?”

“I managed to pierce my eardrum.”

Keith laughs again while sitting up and Lance is sure that it’s illegal to be this cute.

“Well at least, I didn’t cut my ear in half!”, Lance huffs and puts his hands on his hips.

 _So, what now?_ Lance was supposed to go home now and get a good night’s rest. But just thinking about leaving like this sends a sharp pain through Lance’s chest. What is he supposed to say now? Hey, I like you, can I have your number?

Well… that… is actually a good option. More like his only option. Lance takes a deep breath to gather all of his courage. He’s not ready to let Keith go like this.

Keith looks up at him, when he hears a woman say: “Kogane?”

Great timing.

Keith gets up and for the first time tonight they’re standing in front of each other. Keith is just a tiny bit smaller than him. They stand like this for a second and Keith doesn’t move from his spot. Lance raises an eyebrow in question when he sees Keith biting his lips. Oh.

A smile spreads on his lips.

“Come on, go. I’ll wait for you.”

Keith lifts his gaze and relief washes over his face so clearly that Lance wants to kiss him right then and there, but he doesn’t. Instead he kicks him in the shin once again.

“Come on!”, he laughs. “Let them patch you up already!”

Keith hurries to the other room and Lance sits down one more time, his heart beating like crazy in his chest. Keith likes him. Well, at least he wants to talk to lance again.

_Oh, god, does he like me? What if I’m imagining all of this again?!_

Fear is slowly worming its way into Lance’s stomach. It wouldn’t be the first time that his mind made all of this mutual attraction up. Oftentimes Lance simply sees what he wants to see. And he wants Keith to like him.

_Fuck, am I doing this shit again? But why would he be happy that I wait for him if he doesn’t like me?_

The silence in the emergency room gives his anxiety time to grow.

_But he was checking out my legs, wasn’t he? Oh, god, maybe he just thought I was weird! Maybe he’s too nice to tell me to go fuck myself._

Lance ruffles his hair in frustration and remembers what Hunk told him to do when he’s freaking out. Lance slowly breathes in through his nose and out of his mouth. He repeats that a few times and after a few more minutes he feels his heart calm down.

He takes out his phone to tell Hunk that he’s fine. He smiles when Hunk replies instantly.

He should stop worrying. Hunk always tell him so and Hunk is always right. Keith is a nice guy. Lance should just go with the flow and see what happens. But he really _really_ wants Keith to like him. It’s been a while since he felt like this and the warm flutter in his chest makes him feel giddy.

Lance loves this feeling. He loves falling in love and that’s part of the reason for his flirty personality. But it also scares him. Rejection scares him. But he doesn’t want to think about it right now. He wants to enjoy the butterflies in his stomach that starts fluttering like crazy the moment Keith enters the room again.

 

* * *

 

Keith also has a big bandage wrapped around his head, but he doesn’t look miserable at all. There is a big grin on his face when he sees Lance waiting for him. Lance can’t help but return the smile. Yes, this is definitely worth it.

 “Dude, what’s up with this huge bandage? Did they amputate your ear?”, Lance gasps in faked disbelief, putting his hand to his chest dramatically. “Don’t worry I’m sure you’re still pretty with one ear.”

“They stitched it together. But thanks for worrying about my good looks.”, Keith snorts as he sees lance pull a face in disgust.

“Stitched together that sounds like it hurts like a bitch! Ugh I don’t want to think about it.” Lance shivers and Keith chuckles.

“You’re not good with gross stuff, huh?”

“God no, I _hate_ it. Just thinking about the stitches gives me the creeps.”

“Well then you sure got lucky with your tiny injury.”

“Excuse you, but this is horrible!”, Lance gestures to the bandage around his head. “It totally ruins my style!”

Keith raises his eyebrows and rolls his eyes at that. He starts laughing again, when Lance kicks him in his shin for the third time tonight.

“Stop it! I’m injured!”

“Oh! So now, you suddenly turned into a real softie or what, Mr. Though-Guy”, Lance laughs but stops anyway.

“So.”, Lance breathes and gets up from his seat. “Let’s get out of here already.”

Keith follows him towards the exit and takes a deep breath.

Now the time has come for him to be brave. He’s been through many hardships in his life but saying the next words takes all the strength he can muster.

“Um.”

Brilliant.

The door closes behind them and the cool night air welcomes them. Lance shivers as he turns around to look at Keith. Well at least Keith got his attention.

“Shiro is coming to get me in a few minutes. So, um. Should we give you a ride?”

God, he can feel the heat creeping all the way up to his face. He must look like an idiot. But Lance smiles and that’s all that matters.

“That’d be great! Thanks!”

Lance simmers with excitement. He was about to ask Keith for his number, but now he gets to spend some more time with him.

Lance notices how Keith visibly relaxes after hearing his answer, tension fading from his shoulders. But suddenly there’s mischief glinting in those pretty eyes. Lance swallows, when Keith grins in a way that is nothing but seductive.

“Or do you want to ride the train in your booty shorts”, Keith teases and his gaze falls on Lance’s legs.

Lance yelps and crosses his legs in a knee-jerk reaction, face heating up in embarrassment.

“No, thank you”, he squeals and Keith starts laughing.

“Fuck, I’ll burn these when I get home,” Lance mutters more to himself and is genuinely surprised when Keith answers him abruptly.

“No, they’re fine.”

“Huh?”

Lance blinks in surprise when he sees Keith bashfully rubbing the back of his neck and averting his eyes.

“Uh, I mean you look good ... in those shorts. Your legs are … nice,” Keith mumbles before he violently rubs his face and groans into his hand.

“What the _fuck_ am I saying?!”

Okay, so maybe, just maybe, Lance is not entirely making this thing up in his head because Keith _is_ flirting with him. Lance opens his mouth but is left speechless. His face is burning and is stomach is doing somersaults.

Keith tucks at his uniform and tries to avoid looking at Lance.

_Shit, what is wrong with me? It’s probably the heat frying my brain._

He needs to get out of this thing. But that’s easier said than done. Keith has some serious trouble getting the uniform top over his injured head. And his shaking fingers aren’t making this any easier.

“Geez, you’re hopeless.  Let me help you with that.”

“I can do this myself!” Keith argues but Lance is already grabbing the neck of his uniform.

“Don’t be stubborn!”

Lance is a little bit taller than Keith and normally he would be annoyed by this fact, but Lance is too close for him to think about it.

Lance is careful as he slowly eases Keith out of his uniform. Keith sighs when he pulls the bulky top up. He can feel the air immediately cooling his sweaty skin. _Fuck, I’m sure I reek._ Keith thinks, suddenly feeling very self-conscious.  
  
“I’m sorry. I probably smell,” Keith mumbles.

Lance is not disgusted; his body reacts with a pleased shiver instead. _God, is it fucked up that I’m turned on by his sweat?!_

“I want to bury my nose in your shirt,”, is what Lance wants to say, instead he sputters,” Nah, you smell good.” Yep, that wasn’t better at all.

Lance quickly lifts the uniform over Keith’s head so he won’t have to look him in the eye.

The world around Lance disappears the moment Keith raises his arms. He’s wearing a skintight black shirt that slips up his hips, revealing pale skin and _impressive_ abs. Lance is sure he sees God.

The uniform drops to the ground and Lance is still trying to _calm the fuck down_ , but Keith is too close and his heart beats too hard in his chest and a soft breathy moan escapes his lips. Keith head whips up and Lance sees a hot spark in those dark eyes. Arousal shivers through his whole body as Keith takes a step closer.

“Keith! Sorry it took me so long.”

Keith stops with his hand raised midway between them. _What was I about to do?_ His head feels light as he tilts his head to the side to look at Shiro who walks towards them. Lance seems to be frozen in space, face bright red and eyes wide open. He flinches when Keith calls out to Shiro automatically.

“N-No, it’s fine. I’m just glad you’re here.” _God my voice sounds so weird! Do I look weird?!_

“How are you?” The look of concern in Shiro’s face is enough to coax a smile out of Keith.

“I’m okay. They patched me up. I’ll be as good as new in a few days.” Shiro nods and relief washes over his face. “Geez, you really scared me, Keith,” Shiro sighs and rubs the scar on his nose.

Keith gives him an apologetic lopsided smile. Shiro really is a worrywart after all.

Lance on the other hand is still frozen in place. He swallows once, twice and tries to calm his shaking hands. This can’t be healthy. He’s sure he almost had a heart attack. A wave of pleasure flickers through his stomach as he remembers the look in Keith eyes. He takes a deep shaky breath and turns around to greet Shiro.

Jesus fucking _Christ_!

Lance is left speechless once again tonight when he lays his eyes on Shiro.

The first thing Lance notes isn’t the artificial arm or the scars or the strand of white air. Jesus, it’s not even the fact that he’s build like Adonis.

It’s the soft look in his eyes when he talks to Keith.

But, sweet quiznak, he is _hot_!

“Are all Ice Hockey player this hot? Fuck,” Lance whispers under his breath but the soft sound reminds Keith that he should probably explain things to Shiro. He clears his throat again. Just how many times has it been already, god.

“So, Shiro this is Lance. Lance, Shiro my coach.”

Lance wakes from his state of shock when Shiro takes a step forward and reaches out to shake his hand. Lance hesitates a second before shaking his prosthesis hand.

“Nice to meet you! So, did you win the game or did Keith’s ear mess everything up?” Lance asks with his trademark smile on his face.

Shiro laughs and it’s a deep and soothing rumble that makes Lance grin even wider.

“No, we won! Although it was hard without our ace.”

Lance turns to Keith. “The ace, huh? Not bad.”

Keith can’t help the small flutter in his chest when he sees the distinct admiration in Lance eyes.

Shiro chuckles and Keith whips around to glare at Shiro, who simply gives him a knowing smile in response. Shit.

“So, Lance. Thank you for keeping Keith company tonight. I’m sure he appreciates it,” Shiro teases and Keith wants to strangle him.

But Lance doesn’t seem to notice and replies cheerfully. “No, problem, man! I never thought it would be fun to wait at an emergency room”, Lance laughs and Shiro doesn’t miss the small smile on Keith’s face.

“Alright. I think we all need to rest. Lance, should we give you a ride?”

Lance grins. “That’d be great! Thanks, man!”

“Yeah, he’s not exactly wearing the right… attire to ride the train anyway.”

“Shut it, Keith!”

“Hey, you should thank me. I’m saving your sorry ass from being a public disgrace.”

“I’ll have you know that my beautiful ass is a _gift_ to humanity! A pleasure to look at! Everyone should honor these booty shorts!” Lance bickers with Keith, while walking to Shiro’s car, wearing a fake scowl on his face.

Keith laughs out loud and Shiro immediately takes a liking to Lance.

“Well, I sure appreciate them.”

Oh? Shiro watches in amusement when both boys go bright red at Keith reply.

“Keith would you mind sitting in the back? I have all of my things on the passenger seat.” Shiro decides that Keith could use some more help. Keith sends him an irritated look but still gets into the back of the car.

 

* * *

 

Once Shiro gets them going, Lance explains the way to his apartment.

It’s quiet for a minute and Shiro starts talking to fill the silence.

“So what happened to your ear Lance? If it’s okay to ask.”

Keith snorts loudly and Shiro sees him wince in the driving mirror when Lance slaps his knee.

“Come on, Lance. Tell him about your accident,” Keith says teasingly and Lance flips him the bird.

Lance tells the story reluctantly, interrupting himself a few times to shush Keith, who can’t stop chuckling.

But Lance is preoccupied by something else. His hand is way too close to Keith’s. The back of his hand is brushing Keith’s occasionally, and every small touch sends shivers up his arm.

Shiro is polite enough not to laugh at Lance. In fact, he’s genuinely worried.

“See? Unlike you, Shiro takes this seriously!”

“He’s just polite. That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard in my life.”

Lance just slaps Keith arm in response, bringing their hands even closer.

Keith wants to die. Or hold Lance hand. Or do both. He mentally prepares himself to ask Lance for his number, while Shiro is talking about the game. He’s only listening with one ear, humming in response from time to time.

 _It’s not like I’m asking him to marry me._ _Jesus, get a grip._ He looks at Lance who is gesturing to tell Shiro the way. The orange light of the streetlamps illuminate his features and Keith is so _so_ gay.

He decides to be brave and his fingers brush Lance’s knuckles softly to get his attention. His heart is beating crazily in his chest. He can’t remember ever being this nervous before. Lance turns to look at him, and Keith breath hitches.

“Keith, why don’t you invite Lance to come see one of our games?” Shiro’s sudden question interrupts their moment and Keith frowns at him in irritation.

“You can text him to let him now when would be good. Are you interested Lance?”

“Are you kidding me?! Of course, I want to!”, Lance shouts and already fishes for his phone.

Keith is dumbfounded.

Shiro is a _genius_! Keith makes a mental note to buy him lunch as thanks. He takes out his phone and exchange numbers with Lance who beams with delight.

They arrive at Lance’s apartment and Lance thanks Shiro for the ride. He has already opened the door but turns around one more time. He reaches out and quickly squeezes Keith fingers. His gaze is intense as he looks directly into Keith’s eyes. “You HAVE to call me!”

Keith only nods and squeezes back. Lance smiles and then he’s gone. Keith swallows and leans back in his seat with a loud groan.

Shiro laughs and pulls from the curb. “You got it bad, huh?”

“You have no idea,” Keith groans and covers his eyes with his hands.

He feels the soft hum of his phone and digs it out of his pocket.

_G’night Mr. Tough-Guy ;)_

Keith types a quick reply and closes his eyes with a smile.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Um... so this story was SUPPOSED to have like one more chapter but SOMEHOW I couldn't stop writing and... now I have written more than 10k words and I'm still not finished!! So I decided to turn this into two chapters... so now you can enjoy this short chapter! :D And I will (hopefully) finish the next part this or next week ;;;
> 
> I had so much fun writing a second chapter for this one!! I got so many nice comments that I was encouraged to write it after all :) But it's also scary to post a second chapter, I hope it fulfills the expectations ;A;
> 
> I love changing the POVs but the first chapter was kind of messy lmao so this time there's a cut everytime I change POVs, I hope it's easier to read like this!  
> I really hope you like the second chapter! Please tell me what you think, IÄm always trying to improve myself! THANK YOU AND ENJOY!

„What if he hates me?”

“He won’t.”

“What if he thinks I'm ugly?!”

“Lance you're beautiful.”

"You're right. BUT what if the magic is gone?!”

“The Emergency room magic?”

“Exactly! God, he will hate me. I just know it.”

“Lance.”

“I just know it Hunk! I feel it in my gut!”

“Lance!”

“God, he’ll be so disappointed when he sees me! I can’t take it!”

“LANCE!”

Lance stops fidgeting and looks at Hunk, who is sitting in the chair in front of him.

"It's going to be okay. Keith will like you, you'll have a great time and everything is going to be fine.”

Lance collapses upon himself and his hands fall into his lap as he sighs.

“How can you be so sure?”

“Dude, he’s been texting you nonstop for the past two weeks. He likes you. Trust me.”

Lance can’t help but smile at Hunk, who has been listening to his rambling for almost an hour now. Scratch that, for the last ten years.

Lance takes a deep breath.

“Hunk.”

“Hm?”

“You know I love you, right?”

“Yeah, I know”, Hunk laughs and pets Elly, who is sitting on his lap like the cat of a rich cooperate heir.

“And I love you too Elly! Technically you're the one who introduced me to Keith!”

Lance gets up from the sofa and reaches down to pet Elly as well. She closes her eyes and purrs loudly. Lance sighs again.

“Sorry, I’m such a mess.”

Hunk chuckles and Elly looks up to him.

“You're going to be okay. I can tell that Keith is a good guy. And you really like him, don't you?”

Lance should be embarrassed, but Hunk can see right through him, so there’s no point in hiding how he feels. He just nods, eyes still focused on Elly. Hunk leans forward to press his forehead against Lance’s.

“Then go get him!” he says and softly headbutts Lance.

Lance can’t help but laugh. God, everyone needs a Hunk.

“All right! Then I’ll get going!” Lance yells and straightens up.

“That’s my boy! Make sure to tell me every detail when you get back!”

Lance tries to hold on to his courage, while he puts on his shoes. He’s going to be there too early, but he’s scared that he’ll just bunk off if he doesn’t leave right now.

_It’s going to be fine._

   


* * *

  


Keith’s heart is going to explode. He slows down to gain some time to calm down but at this point it’s useless. He wants to see Lance. He really wants to, but he’s so nervous that he’s going to die first. He ruffles his hair and groans in frustration. They’ve been texting since they said good bye that evening. Lance is clearly interested in him. Well, at least he knows that Lance doesn’t hate him. Hopefully.

Keith groans again. _This isn’t going to get any easier, so turn this stupid corner!_ he thinks and takes a deep breath to take the last few steps to their meeting point.

And there he is. Lance is looking down at his phone and jumps from one foot to the other. He looks just as nervous as Keith feels and Keith lets out the breath he didn’t notice he was holding.

Lance is still beautiful. Even more so then before. Lance looks up, still fidgeting, but freezes when he sees Keith. Then the biggest smile spreads on his face and he waves at Keith. Keith is fucked. So, so fucked.

“Hi,” he breathes, when he stops in front of Lance.

Keith smiles sheepishly. _Well, at least I didn’t fuck that up completely._

“Holy shit, is that a mullet?”

Keith blinks in confusion.

“What?”

“You”, Lance says and points at his head, “have a freaking mullet!”

Keith frowns and crosses his arms in front of his chest. Well, this was not what he expected.

“I do not.”

“You do!”

“No, I don’t! It’s just … long hair, I don’t know!”

“Oh my god, I can’t believe this,” Lance giggles and his eyes crinkle, which Keith would find adorable if he weren’t so pissed right know.

“Well, you also badly disappoint me.”

Oh. Seems like that was effective because Lance stops laughing immediately and stares at him with big, worried eyes.

A smirk steals its way onto Keith’s lips.

“Where are the booty shorts?”

A whirlwind of emotions cross Lance’s face, relief, annoyance, embarrassment? And suddenly he punches Keith arm, a faint blush on the bridge of his nose.

“Asshole! God, I’m never going to live this down, am I?” he groans.

“Nope.”

“Well, at least I think you’re outfit today is better than the stupid Ice Hockey uniform, Mullet-Man.”

“You didn’t like it? Wait … Mullet-Man? Seriously?”

Lance laughs.

“Well the uniform was okay, but I like this bad boy look you got going.”

Keith raises his eyebrows and looks down to his black skinny jeans. He doesn’t get it but that was a compliment, wasn’t it?

“Thanks?”

He’s a little bit confused but Lance laughs so it’s okay.

“I’m starving! Do you want to grab something to eat?” Lance asks and points behind his shoulder to a tiny pizza restaurant.

“Sure.”

   


* * *

  


It’s weird. Not like awkward weird, but Lance still thinks it’s weird because it’s NOT weird. It’s fun. Keith is amazing. Lance is glad that it wasn’t all thanks to the holy emergency room magic. Keith is cute and funny and really _fucking_ hot! He’s just too sexy in his stupid tight black shirt and he doesn’t even realize it. Lance is having one mental breakdown after another, when Keith licks a string of cheese from his red, red lips and furrows his brows in annoyance.

Lance decides that he loves to tease Keith. He has a stunningly short temper and Lance takes ever opportunity he can get to fuel it even more. But it seems like Keith is also enjoying their bickering because… well he’s still here, isn’t he?

There’s another weird thing that isn’t weird. Right now, Lance’s knee is brushing Keith’s under the table and Keith doesn’t seem to mind.

In fact, Keith shifts to press it even closer and Lance almost screams. Keith seems like such a tough guy but he’s actually pretty adorable. His annoyed face doesn’t match his actions, but there’s a hint of red on his pale cheeks.

Lance smiles and can’t believe that he’s such a lucky man. He sends a silent thanks to Hunk, who gave him the courage to show up after all.

                                                                                             ***

They talk and fight. Well, Lance is doing most of the talking, which was to be expected, but Keith likes to listen and shares some stories of his own.

“I’d like to meet them,” Keith says suddenly.

“Huh?”

“You friends. Hunk and Pidge. It sounds like they’re really nice.”

Something strange happens with Lance’s heart when Keith smiles at that.

“They are!”

“Um, I mean if it’s okay for you, I don’t want to intrude or anything, just…,” Keith blabbers, suddenly embarrassed, eyes fixed on the piece of pizza in his hands.

“Dude! Of course! They’re going to love you!” Lance laughs and Keith’s shoulder sag in relief and he looks up to answer Lance with a smile.

There’s a short silence between them, but it’s not awkward. Lance takes the moment to appreciate the soft smile on Keith’s face and is startled when Keith suddenly leans forward and steals one of Lance’s Pizza slices.

“Hey!”

“Stop talking and eat, I’m already done.”

Lance looks at Keith plate to see that he’s right. He’s not a stingy person so he pushes his plate to the middle of the table to share the rest of his pizza with Keith. That boy got an amazing appetite. Keith is distracted by the pizza and Lance puts his elbows on the table, resting his head in one hand.

A cat like grin appears on his lips in appreciation. Yeah, he _really_ likes what he sees.

   


   


* * *

   


“Now what?” Lance asks and crosses his arms behind his head as they walk out of the restaurant. Keith scratches the back of his neck. A nervous habit. Keith had a hard time thinking about what they could do and Shiro wasn’t exactly a big help with all his romantic ideas. That just wasn’t Keith thing.

After two hours of brainstorming and Keith almost pulling out his hair, Shiro sighed and told him to just be himself and that in the end they’d have fun no matter what they do.

So, Keith made a simple plan. The plan he now has to break to Lance. Keith swallows and tries to sound as casual as possible.

“Um, I thought maybe you’d want to go on a ride?”

Lance stops in his track, hands still behind his back and stares at Keith with an eyebrow raised in question.

“Go on a ride?”

Keith clears his throat again.

“On my motorbike.”

“Your bike” Lance deadpans.

Lance is still frozen in place, looking at Keith in disbelief. _God he doesn’t like it._

“We don’t have to, if you don’t want!” Keith exclaims and raises his hands. But suddenly Lance wakes from his rigor and his trademark smile appears on his face. He’s practically beaming at Keith with excitement.

“Are you kidding me?! Of course I want to!”

A breathy laugh escapes Keith. “Then let’s go.”

Lance cheers and bounces to catch up to Keith.

“A bike! That’s so cool. And explains the fingerless gloves.”

Keith furrows his brows.

“I just like them.”

Lance snorts. “They’re a little bit kinky.”

Keith actually stumbles and whips his head to the side to look at Lance.

“Kinky? What’s wrong with you?!”

He feels the heat creeping onto his cheeks as he hears Lance dirty laugh.

“Who’s the one who can’t stop talking about my booty shorts?”

“That’s… different.”

“Oh, really?” Lance teases and raises his eyebrow again, chuckling as he sees Keith fumbling for an answer that isn’t there.

_God, why am I so weak to this guy?_

Keith groans. He’s never been happier in his life to see his bike.

“There she is.”

Keith can’t hide the proud sound in his voice when he pats his bike.

“She?” Lance giggles and Keith turns around.

“Sure, she’s a lady so be nice.”

“Oh, I’m always nice to pretty Ladies”, Lance purrs and Keith really doesn’t know what to make of that statement. He can think about this later. Keith takes one of the helmets he left with the bike and tosses it to Lance.

Keith puts his helmet on and swings his right leg over the bike. He turns to tell Lance to hurry up but his words die in his throat, when he sees how Lance looks at him.

His face is flushed all the way down to his neck and he is very obviously staring at Keith’s legs, split over the back of the bike. Lance swallows and flinches when he finally notices that Keith is looking at him.

“Are you coming, or what?” Keith asks but he’s not sure he said it because he can’t hear his own fucking thoughts with his heart beating so loud in his chest.

Lance murmurs something and scrambles on the bike, while putting his helmet on and then his hands are on Keith’s waist.

Keith told himself that he was ready for it. Technically he _was_ ready for it. As in, he knew that this was going to happen. But he wasn’t ready _at all_.

His skin feels too tight and he’s sure that Lance can feel his wild heartbeat, or his uneven breathing. _Jesus Christ, calm down!_

He’s going to suffocate under his helmet, he’s sure. Keith is probably signing his own death sentence with his next words, but he wants Lance to be save.

“You’ll have to hold on tighter, if you don’t want to fall off.”

There’s a soft squeal behind his back, which seems to be all the verbal affirmation he’ll get, but Lance wraps his arms tighter around Keith’s waist. Keith is burning like a wildfire.

   


* * *

  


Keith is hot. Literally hot, Lance can feel the heat of his body seeping through his shirt. His tight shirt. Lance can feel the rise of his abs, where his hands are splayed on his abdomen. His fingers twitch with the desire to _touch_. To let his hands roam over that skin, explore every inch of that body.

Lance feels delirious. He needs something to cool him down. Why didn’t he think about this, when Keith mentioned his bike? This is a dangerous situation. Lance shifts in his seat. Seeing Keith spread over the back of this bike did…. _Things_ to his body.

Keith with his skinny jeans, his muscular tights pressed to the read metal of the bike. Fast, dangerous, and hot. All the things Lance desires. A shiver runs down his spine and he instinctively clutches at the material of Keith’s shirt.

He almost didn’t hear what Keith said to him.

“So… where do you want to go?”

Lance laughs into Keith neck and he swears that he feels Keith shiver under his hands. Maybe this isn’t too bad.

“You take me out for a ride, without knowing where to go? Nice move, Mullet.”

“Shut it. I haven’t thought that far ahead”, Keith curses and scratches the back of his neck. “I wasn’t even sure that you’d agree on this.”

A warm flutter rises in Lance’s chest and he’s happy that Keith can’t see his face.

“I’m always in for a fast ride, dude. What, did you think I’d be scared? I’m offended!”

“Oh, yeah? Sure, you’re not scared?” Lance hears the teasing grin on Keith’s lips and suddenly the bike roars to life under him. Keith revs the engine and laughs, when Lance yelps in surprise. Is it possible to be aroused by a bike? Because there’s a bubbling warmth in the pit of his stomach, which gets worse when Keith presses back into him, tilting his head back to talk to Lance.

“So? Where should I take you?”

Lance stomach does a flip at his chose of words. This _really_ feels like a date.

“I know the perfect place! You’ll love it!” he says in a loud voice.

“Then tell me where to go.”

Lance points in the general direction and Keith pulls from the curb with a loud roar of the engine. Lance screams with laughter as Keith picks up the speed. He _loves_ this. He can’t help but cheer with every sharp turn of the bike. Sometimes he hears Keith chuckle at his reaction and the smile on his face gets even wider.

 

* * *

  


Keith is almost disappointed when Lance taps his shoulder to tell him to stop here. Lance is having fun. And Keith is finally able to relax and just enjoy this. Enjoy being with Lance. He kills the engine and waits until Lance gets up. Lance’s fingers press into Keith’s shoulder as he lifts himself from the bike. Keith takes off his helmet and looks at Lance.

Lance is pulling the helmet from his head and reveals his flushed and beaming face.

“That. Was. Awesome!” he shouts and laughs aloud. Keith’s stomach does a happy little flip and a big grin finds its way onto his lips.

“Glad you liked it.”

“Dude, this was amazing! I love your bike!” Lance exclaims as Keith gets off from his bike as well, shaking out his hair. “What’s her name?”

“Huh?”

Keith turns to look at Lance who is grinning at him in expectation.

“What? Do you expect me to believe that you didn’t name this pretty lady?”

Lance puts his hands to his waist and Keith can’t believe that he’s so easy to read.

“Red”, he mumbles and takes the helmet out of Lance hands.

Keith expects Lance to make fun of him for this name, but he just smiles and pats the back of the bike like a greeting.

“Good job, Red.”

A gesture like this was not supposed to make Keith heart lurch, but it does. He clears his throat.

“So… where the hell are we?”

Keith is pretty sure that they’re in the middle of nowhere. At least they drove out of town into the nearby hills.

Lance laughs triumphantly and slaps Keith back as he passes him. “Just follow me!”

Keith does just that, taking a second too long to catch up to appreciate the sight in front of him.

“This is an underappreciated place, but it’s my favorite spot in town!”

Once they pass the road and a row of trees Keith knows why Lance loves this place. It’s a small platform on top of a hill. The whole city is spread in front of them. Keith can actually see tiny people and cars moving in the streets. It’s lovely.

Lance turns around with his arms spread to both sides.

“Tada!”

Lance puts his hands behind his back and leans forward with a curious expression.

“And? Do you like it?”

Keith nods and Lance does a fist pump.

“Knew it! Nailed it.”

Keith rolls his eyes and walks past Lance to the wall separating him and the abyss. He wonders for a moment if Lance often brings people to this place but it’s not something he wants to think about right now.

 

* * *

  


Lance  leans against the wall next to Keith. Lance loves this place. He often comes here when he has time and just wants to take a break from the rest of the world. Lance looks down at the town beneath them. He doesn’t know why, but it relaxes him to see the town like this. Everything seems so far away. He takes a deep breath. The air is fresh and clean in the hills.

There’s a moment of silence between them and Lance can tell that Keith is relaxed and enjoys this as much as he does. Keith arms are folded on top of the wall and there’s a tiny smile on his face that anyone, who was not staring at him like Lance does, would miss. Lance doesn’t notice that he’s smiling as well.

He takes in the sight in front of him, appreciating the sharp features of Keith face like he did in the emergency room that night. It seems like a hundred years ago, but it’s been only two weeks. It’s weird. How in the hell could it feel so natural to be around someone he just met? Maybe they have met before. In another universe. Maybe they were partners. In space. Because if there really were an alternative universe Lance sure as hell would be a space pilot.

He almost gasps. _Maybe we were Space ranger partners!_

Lance hears a soft chuckle.

“What are you thinking about?”

Lance returns to the real world to see Keith smiling at him. He gulps. But this reality isn’t too bad either.

“Space rangers.”

Keith furrows his brows and Lance starts laughing. Keith is cute when he’s confused. Lance turns around and hops onto the wall, his back facing the scenery below him. Keith hesitates a second but lifts himself up as well. Lance doesn’t miss the way his biceps flexes.

Keith settles in next to him and Lance catches how he shifts closer. They sit exactly the same way they did back at the emergency room and Lance suddenly remembers the blood drenched cloth Keith pressed to his ear that night. And he wonders if …

“There’s a scar!”

And without thinking Lace reaches out and touches the pale, white scar on Keith’s left ear.

Keith jumps at the touch and squeals in surprise. Lance freezes, his hand still on Keith’s ear. Keith doesn’t move, but his gaze is deadly as he looks at Lance. The blush on his face considerably decreases the threat in his eyes, but his voice is venom.

“Don’t. Say. A thing.”

Lance shudders and swallows. He was about to make fun of him, but… that look left him speechless, and instead sends hot arousal down into his lap.  

_God something’s really wrong with me,_ Lance thinks, when Keith grabs Lance’s wrist to lower his hand. His grip is not strong but Lance finds himself thinking that he wants Keith to bruise him, which is really _fucked up, Lance get a grip!_ Lance scolds himself and pulls his hand away before he accidently says something stupid like this.

“Does it still hurt?” Lance stutters instead.

Keith scratches the back of his neck. Lance already realized that it’s something Keith does when he’s nervous or embarrassed. Cute.

“Nah, I’m a Tough- Guy after all.”

There’s a lopsided grin on Keith face when he finally turns to look at him. Lance returns the grin and playfully punches Keith’s arm. And Keith actually winces and rubs the spot with a frown on his face.

“Oh, maybe you’re not as tough as you think, huh?” Lance mocks him and pushes his finger into the spot. Keith swats at his hand in return.

“You just caught me by surprise, that’s all.”

“Sure, Mullet Man. You’re not the only one who works out. Look at these guns.”

Lance says and flexes his arm, which _is_ pretty muscular.

“Yeah, right,” Keith scoffs and Lance gasps offended and puts one hand on his chest.

“Excuse you! But this body was shaped by hard work!”

“Like what?”

Lance throws him another teasing smile and wiggles his eyebrows.

“Guess.”

   


* * *

  


Of course, Keith knows that it#s impossible for Lance to look like _this_ without some kind of workout. Keith takes his time to look at Lance. The first thing he appreciates are those long _, long_ legs, one carefully draped over the other as Lance leans back onto his hands.

Keith wants to be suffocated between those _tights_. That would be a pleasant death. Lance clears his throat and Keith head snaps up, self-consciously rubbing his mouth with the back of his head. _Focus, Keith._

Lance is tall, well he’s almost 90 % legs. He has broad, muscular shoulders and a really nice slender waist that Keith desperately wants to put his hands on. He’s lean, built with some kind of sleekness to him. Lance also has a really nice triceps, Keith notes as he stares at Lance arms. With his build it’s pretty obvious what he does, but Keith still takes a moment longer to use this opportunity to openly stare.

Until Lance starts fidgeting under his gaze and runs a hand through his short hair, turning it into a disheveled mess in the process.

“You’re a swimmer.”

Lance practically beams at him and does finger guns in his direction.

“Bingo!”

Keith rolls his eyes, but Lance doesn’t seem to notice because he starts chattering right away.

“I’m a swimmer at The Garrison. My specialty is the Free stroke.”

Keith freezes. The Garrison. A renowned university for all kind of sports. He knows it too well.

“Hunk and Pidge also go there, although I think Pidge just does it for fun, because she already knows everything there’s to know about computers. My guess is that she’s getting ready for world domination. I warn you! When you first see her, she’s this cute tiny thing, but I have yet to find someone who doesn’t get killed off immediately by her sick Taekwondo skills.”

Keith nods. It seems like Lance hasn’t noticed that Keith nearly stopped breathing there for a second.

“And Hunk. Hunk looks like a cute, big, harmless Teddy-bear. But boy, if you see him lifting those weights, Jesus.”

Keith closes his eyes. He feels sick, he can’t help the nauseous feelings spreading in his stomach.

“Hey. You alright? Keith?”

Keith opens his eyes and looks at Lance who has a worried expression on his face. Why? Why is it that Lance can read him so well, when they haven’t known each other for long? Keith is pretty sure that he perfected the impassive aura around him. But this doesn’t seem to work with Lance. He’s not sure that he likes it. The fact that someone can look through him like that.

“I’m fine.”

There’s silence for a second in which Lance just patiently looks at him and Keith takes a deep breath.

“I … was also a student at the Garrison. A while ago.”

“Seriously?!”

Lance leans closer at this, face lighting up with surprise.

Keith sighs and runs a hand through his hair.

“Yeah, I actually had a scholarship.”

Lance face falls a little bit at that, pursing his lips.

“Oh, so now you’re also a genius student, huh?” he snaps with crossed arms, glaring at Keith.

“Well, technically yes. Until they kicked me out.”

The silence is suffocating, Keith can feel it like a weight on his chest. He’s not looking at Lance and plays with his gloves instead.

He hears the sharp intake of breath and the soft question that always follows.

“Why?”

Keith closes his eyes.

“I had… discipline issues.”

He doesn’t want to tell Lance how he was back then. All pent-up anger and red fury.

At this point people usually ask him what happened, but Lance lets out an ugly snort.

“Bad at following orders, huh? Knew you were hard to control. Got a temper, right?”

Keith finally musters the courage to look at Lance and what he sees is not the usual expression he gets after telling this. There’s an amused smile on Lance’s face and a dangerous glint in his eyes that sends a shiver down Keith’s spine.

“I’m a bad boy,” Keith says and grins and _why the fuck did I just say this_? _I sound like an Idiot!_ But the look in Lance’s eyes intensifies when he lowers his eyelids and leans closer.

“Already knew that, Tough-guy”, Lance whispers and Keith can feel the heat creeping into his cheeks. There’s a hot pull of arousal in the pit of his stomach. Keith’s swallows but his throat is too dry.  

The moment is gone when Lance shifts his weight back onto his hands. “So how did you get into your team then?”

Keith exhales a shaky breath and absentmindedly dries his sweaty hands on his pants. That’s safe territory.

“Shiro got me into it. He’d just graduated when they kicked me out.”

Lance hums.

“You sure are close.”

Warm affection spreads in Keith’s chest when he thinks about Shiro.

“Yeah.”

Lance’s eyes go soft when he looks at Keith and the warmth in Keith’s chest spreads even more. Okay, maybe this isn’t safe after all. Keith feels like no topic is save when he’s talking to Lance. All of this attention makes him feel dizzy so he tries to change the subject.

“So…. Pidge does Taekwondo?” he stutters.

Lance’s eyes light up and he immediately starts talking about her. They talk about how Lance got Hunk to bench-press him once and how Lance got his lights knocked out when he dared to challenge Pidge to a fight. Keith listens and laughs as Lance tells his stories with arms and legs, and Keith is sure that his eyebrows have a life on their own.

“One time, I body-checked Shiro so hard he was unconscious for a solid minute,” Keith says and basks in the admiration in Lance’s eyes. It’s pretty dark already and they have to sit really close to see each other in the dim light of the evening.

“Shiro? That rock of a man?”

Keith laughs.

“He looks tough, but he’s a real softie.”

“Are you serious? He looks like he could throw me around with one arm,” Lance mumbles and then a violent shiver runs down his body and he wraps his arms around himself as he sneezes.

Keith chuckles.

“It’s pretty late maybe we should go home.”

“No!”

Keith blinks in disbelief when he sees Lance pouting face.

“Lance. You’re shivering.”

“No I’m not”, he whines and Keith can tell that he has to hold back another shiver.

“I can hear your teeth chattering from here.”

“Well, then you must be hearing things,” Lance snarls and sneezes.

Keith rolls his eyes and jumps down from the wall.

“Come on, Lance.”

“No!”

“Are you seriously going to act like that?”

“Yes!”

“Don’t be a child!”

“I’m not a child!”

“Fine! If you want to act like this, I’m going to treat you like a child.”

And with that Keith steps closer. He puts his hands on Lance’s slender waist and lifts him up. Lance yelps and flounders as he loses his balance. His hands automatically find Keith neck and he stumbles into Keith when his feet hit the ground again. The air leaves Keith chest in a puff.

He wants to laugh at Lance but it gets stuck in his throat when he notices how close they are. His hands are still on Lance’s waist and he can feel Lance’s finger ghosting over his skin on the back of his neck.

Lance lifts his face and Keith’s mouth goes dry. He’s so close that the flush on Lance’s cheeks is undeniable. And then, only for a split of a second, Lance’s eyes flicker down to his lips. A hot shiver wrecks Keith body and he unconsciously strengthens his grip on Lance’s waist. He swallows hard when a soft sound escapes Lance’s lips. Keith is drowning in blue eyes.

And then he feels two hands on his chest, pushing him away with a hoarse laugh.

“Were you looking for an opportunity to show off your strength or what? Just you know it wouldn’t have been this easy if you hadn’t caught me by surprise.”

Lance is standing in front of him, a finger lifted to playfully stab Keith’s chest, face still bright red.

Keith grins back. The moment still lingers between them, but he decides to let it slide for now.

“Yeah?” he says mischievously and raises his hands, making grabbing motions with his fingers, a devilish smile on his face. “Wanna try it again?”

Lance screeches and pulls his hands close to his body. The flush runs all the way down to his neck.

“No! Stop it!”

Keith steps closer, fingers still moving like he wants to grab Lance. Lance takes a step back.

“Keith!” he exclaims but it doesn’t have any impact because he starts laughing. Keith’s hands fall when he starts laughing as well.

“Okay, I’ll let you go.”

Lance visibly relaxes.

“Thanks.”

“For now.”

“KEITH!”

“Just kidding,” Keith laughs and turns away to walk toward his bike. Lance is quick to follow him, still pouting. The air around them feels normal again, but Keith’s heart is still beating fast in his chest with Lance so close to him. _I really got it bad._

  



	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here it is! This story was supposed to have like two chapters at first but the second chapter turned into a 12k monster ;; So now here's the other half haha :D I have to say that I quite like this part :D I had so much fun writing this! And... there are still a few things I want to write for this but I have so many other ideas that it might take some time...
> 
> I CAN'T DESCRIBE HOW HAPPY ALL THE KUDOS AND COMMENTS MAKE ME!! Seriously you are amazing, I love and read every single thing you write and it's the highlight of my day everytime someone says something nice! SO tell me which part you liked or disliked or just scream at me!! :D Fell free to hit me up on Tumblr as well! 
> 
> AGAIN THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!

Lance body glides through the water. He dives his hand into the water and makes a path for his body. Swimming is second nature to him, it’s as natural as breathing. Except that today, Lance isn’t focused. He’s slow.

His finger touch the wall at the end of the pool and he emerges from the water with a gasp.

“Lance.”

Allura is glaring at him from above, an intimidating looming figure. She doesn’t have to say more than that. Lance knows that he sucks.

“I’m gonna do another round,” he says and dives in before she can say anything.

An acid feeling is spreading in his gut and Lance forcefully pushes through the water. It’s been three weeks since that day in the hills.  Lance still feels queasy when he thinks about Keith. Not because he didn’t like it. He can still feel Keith’s hands on his waist, his breath brushing his cheek, the way he swallowed. In fact, Lance liked it too much. Likes Keith too much.

They had met after that, he even invited Keith to go out with Hunk and Pidge. And they loved him, and Keith had laughed and there was a happy glint in his eyes, and overall it was an amazing evening. The reason Lance feels like a piece of shit is because he hasn’t answered any of Keith’s messages… or calls in the past few days.

Lance reaches the end of the pool and does a flip turn, pushing away angrily. He hates himself for it. But… he’s scared. Lance has a habit of running when things get too serious. He often smooths over his real feelings, showing off a playful smile to hide them. He hates it. Hates that he’s so insecure… especially when it comes to love. He cringes when the word “love” pops into his mind. He’s so messed up by his own thoughts.

He reaches the end of the pool again and pulls off his googles and cap in one violent move.

“I know, I fucked up. You don’t have to tell me!” Lance says through gritted teeth.

“Good.”

But the voice that answers him is not Allura’s.

Lance head whips up and he sees Hunk standing above him, hands on his hips and a scowl on his face.

Lance opens his mouth to ask him why he’s here, but Hunk is faster.

“Is there a reason you stopped talking to Keith?”

Lance stomach drops. He swallows and absentmindedly plays with the googles in his hands. He doesn’t dare to look away.

“Uh...”

“Good answer.”

Pidge appears on Hunk’s side, eyebrows raised in annoyance.

“Are you teaming up on me now?” Lance sighs and ruffles his wet hair.

“Lance. We’re trying to help,” Hunk says and drops his arms to his side. He crouches down, so he can look at Lance.

Lance fidgets and rubs his forehead.

“Yeah, because apparently you’re trying to fuck things up. Again,” Pidge deadpans and stuffs her hands into her pockets. She looks annoyed but Lance can tell that she’s worried. He has the best friends.

“Listen, I know I fucked up, but…”

Hunk interrupts him with a flick to his forehead. “No buts, Lance. I told you that Keith likes you. Have I ever been wrong, since the day we met?”

Lance rubs his forehead and pouts. His eyes sting. That was one rule in their group. Always trust Hunk’s gut.

“No,” he mumbles.

“And more importantly, you like Keith. So don’t mess this up, dude.”

Hunk’s voice dropped to a gentle tone that always gets to Lance.

“And what Hunk didn’t mention is that Keith is writing him like every two seconds asking if you’re okay and it’s really fucking annoying.”

Lance looks at Pidge, eyes widened in disbelief. Hunk signs. “We’re not the only ones who are worried.”

A warm bubbly feeling replaces the nausea in Lance’s stomach.

“So text him, before everyone goes insane.”

Suddenly Lance’s phone is in Pidges hand and she tosses it to Lance, who screams and scrambles to not let it fall into the pool.

“Pidge!” he screams and lets out a sigh of relief when it’s safe in his hands.

“What… like… right now?” Lance asks sheepishly and the scowl is back on Hunk’s face.

“Invite him to Taco-Night. Now.”

Lance hurriedly types a message to Keith and sends it before Pidge gets into the pool to kill him.

Lance phone chimes and there’s an immediate and obviously happy reply from Keith.

Lance will see Keith tonight.

Suddenly it feels like a heavy weight is finally lifted from Lance’s chest and a bright smile finds its way onto his lips.

“Thanks.”

Hunk smiles at him and pats his shoulder so hard his legs almost give out. He takes Lance’s phone out of his hand.

“So we’ll see you two tonight.”

“Uh, guys. I don’t want to ruin your bonding moment. But Allura is on her way and she doesn’t look happy,” Pidge says and points her thump at Allura who walks toward them with furious steps.

Hunk flinches and leaps up from his crouch.

“Shit! Pidge let’s get out of here!”

“On it.”

Hunk waves and Lance returns the gesture. They greet Allura when they pass her and Lance takes the moment of distraction to pull on his googles and cap in a hurry.

Allura stops in front of him, looking down on him with a small frown. But Lance knows her long enough to know that she was worried as well. Her students are almost like children to her. Allura cares about him and Lance would lie if he didn’t say that he loves her dearly.

“I’m going to be fine now”, he grins and slips down his googles.  

There’s a second in which she seems to ponder his answer but then there’s a tight and reassuring smile on her face.

“Then show me.”

Lance grins. The water embraces him like a good friend when he dives in.

                                                                                             ***

Lance is nervous. _Really_ nervous. In the past few weeks it became normal to talk to Keith. To write him, to meet occasionally. But now that Lance decided to be honest with himself it’s different. Ever since that day on the hill he kept a certain distance. Which really took a toll on him because he’s _so_ attracted to Keith it hurts.

But it hurt more to keep his distance. To pretend that he didn’t notice how their hands brushed together that one time they watched a movie. To lie to himself that he didn’t enjoy their bantering every time they went out to eat and Lance complained about Keith’s terrible eating habits. The moment he realized that “Good morning” and “Good night” messages became natural for him. And then he got scared.

Lance missed Keith. Still misses him right this second, where he’s waiting for him to show up for Taco-Night. Lance is checking is phone for the hundreds time, making sure he told Keith the right time.

“Dude, chill,” Hunk says and puts a reassuring hand on Lance’s neck.

“What?! I‘m chill. I’m super chill. I invented the chill!” Lance exclaims with fake outrage.

Pidge rolls her eyes and crosses her arms in front of her chest.

“Yeah, right. Everyone can see how chill you are.”

“Let me tell you, I couldn’t be any more relaxed than I am right now. It’s almost like I’m meditating. I’m-“

“Keith!” Hunk yells.

Lance heart lurches out of his chest and an undignified squeal leaves his mouth.

Hunk is already on his way to greet Keith but Pidge takes a second to throw Lance a shit eating grin.

Lance’s heart is beating so hard he’s sure it’s going to burst his ribcage. He wasn’t ready. He puts a hand on his chest, a useless attempt to calm the jack-hammer in his chest, and takes a deep breath before he turns to the others.

Hunk is already draped all over Keith shoulder, pulling him into a bone-crushing hug. Lance can’t see Keith like that but he hears him laugh. Pidge observes them for a second then shrugs and jumps in to hug Keith herself. Maybe Lance hasn’t been the only one who missed Keith.

Hunk turns and now Lance can see Keith’s face, his cheek mashed by Hunk’s. Keith should probably be annoyed with them but there’s nothing but affection in his eyes. He looks down at Pidge with such a fond expression that Lance’s heart skips a beat.

Suddenly Keith’s eyes meet his and there’s an even softer smile on his face as he struggles to lift his arm under Hunk’s to wave at Lance. And this is the moment Lance knows that he wants to be with him. That he doesn’t want to be scared anymore. That he wants to try this. Whatever is going to happen from now on is going to happen. Lance is done with pretending.

Lance laughs and takes the few steps to meet them.

“Stop it, Hunk! You’re crushing him!”

 

* * *

 

It’s so _good_ to see Lance. Keith didn’t even notice that Lance daily messages had become normal when they suddenly stopped. After a few days of panicking and Shiro having to reassure him that Lance was probably just busy, he decided to ask Hunk. Who told him that sometimes Lance had down times like that and it was nothing to worry about. But Keith was worried. After just one day without his daily dose of useless information about Lance’s day he realized that he missed Lance.

But now Lance is standing right in front of him, smiling a little shyly. Hunk finally let go of him although Keith doesn’t really mind. Lance was right. Hunk’s hugs are amazing.

“Hey,” Lance says and rubs the back of his head.

God, Keith missed him.

“I missed you,” he says.

Great.

Lance’s eyes widen in surprise and he stands still for a second. Then his cheeks flush in a pretty pink and the bashful giggle that leaves his mouth is the most beautiful thing Keith has ever heard in his life.

“Ugh. Gross.”

Pidge pulls a face and crosses her arms behind her head. “Stop the flirting, I’m starving.”

“Second that. Not the flirting part though. The food part,” Hunk says and starts walking. Pidge has to run to keep up with him.

Keith expects Lance to deny that they were flirting but he doesn’t say anything; he just smiles at Keith.

“You coming or what?”

Keith nods like an idiot, unable to speak and walks next to Lance in silence.

                                                                                             ***

“Um… this is a grocery store,” Keith says and looks at the sign when they reach their destination. Lance snorts.

“Sharp observation, Samurai.”

“But… I thought we were getting Tacos?”

His confusion must be obvious on his face because everyone starts laughing. It seems like he missed out on something. Usually Keith would get angry if someone  were openly laughing at him like this, but not with these guys.

“That’s because we’re getting the best Tacos in town!” Lance says with a big grin and teasing eyebrows.

“And the best Tacos in town are made by…,” Pidge stretches out her arms to her side, “Hunk!”

The smile on Hunk’s face is shy but proud. Pidge pats the small of his back.

“I can’t wait to try them,” Keith answers with a smile and Lance whoops in response.

“Let’s get some food!” he exclaims and links his arm with Keith to pull him inside the store. Keith stares at Lance’s profile as he lets himself be pulled by him. Keith swears that the tip of his ear is red.

But Keith wouldn’t be Keith if he let himself be pulled like that. He has to walk faster to match Lance’s longer legs but soon he’s the one pulling Lance.

Lance glares at him and pushes into his side to slow him down. Keith pulls his arm closer to his side, dragging Lance along with it and jamming Lance’s arm.

“Stop it!” Lance bursts out and presses his other hand into Keith biceps to make him let go of him.

“You started this!”

“I did not!”

“Did too!”

Lance is now pushing at Keith with full force, his hand plastered to Keith cheek to get better leverage, while kicking his leg.

“I can’t believe this,” Pidge sighs and covers her eyes with one hand.

“Guys! Food, remember?” Hunk has his hands raised in front of him in a reassuring gesture and a desperate look on his face.

“He started it!” both of them exclaim in unison. Hunk takes a deep breath.

“I can’t deal with this when I’m hungry.” He walks up to them and lifts both of them at the back of their shirts to separate them.

Keith wants to protest but he’s stunned into silence, when Hunk seriously starts walking without putting them down. He shares a look with Lance who grins at his disbelieving expression.

“Told you, Hunk’s amazing.”

“Never mess with Hunk, when he’s hungry,” Pidge adds when she skips ahead of them.

“Hunk we’re calm now. I promise,” Lance begs, his eyelashes innocently fluttering at Hunk. Hunk stares at him for second and then let’s go of them.

Keith rubs the back of his neck to get rid of the discomfort from being carried.

“You know how to handle him,” he says to Lance, who pulls a face as he rubs his throat. He flashes Keith a smile in response.

“So…”, Keith gets closer to Lance to whisper his next words, “He really… bench-pressed you?”

“ _Yes!”_ Lance hisses in a low voice hands covering his mouth, the side of his head pressed to Keith’s in secrecy.

“Pretty sexy, right?” Lance looks at him and wiggles his eyebrows. Keith’s face grows hot.

“Uh, I don’t know. But that’s amazing.” Keith voice sounds raspy.

Lance pouts at that and takes a step back.

“Well _I_ think it’s hot.”

Keith really doesn’t know what to do with this piece of information but he’s left speechless with Lance’s next words.

“You could probably bench-press me too.”

There’s a cocky smile on lance’s lips and – ah, there it is again, the dangerous glint in his eyes that makes Keith’s knees go weak.

Before he has even processed what Lance said, or stopped the screaming voice in his head to _think,_ Lance has already turned around to follow Hunk.

Keith stands in silence, looking at Lance who has an arm wrapped around Hunk’s neck.

“What a tease, huh?”

Keith almost jumps out of his skin when Pidge pops out of nowhere to grin at him with a knowing look.

Keith feels the need to defend himself but can’t find the words so he just let’s out a deep drawn sigh in defeat. Pidge laughs and pats his arms with a strength that should not be possible for someone with such a small body.

Keith chuckles and shakes his head, when he follows her. He really got himself involved with a strange bunch of people.

                                                                              ***

Everyone is staring at Keith in expectation when he takes the first bite. It’s an epiphany.

“Oh my god,” he says, his mouth stilled filled with Taco, but he can’t help the deep moan leaving his mouth when he takes another bite. He closes his eyes to savor the taste.

“Told you,” Pidge says and bites into her Taco.

“Best Tacos in town,” Lance says and hums in appreciation.

“Guys stop it,” Hunk laughs and rubs the back of his head whit a shy grin.

“Oh, Come on, Hunk! You can brag about your Cooking skills!” Lance exclaims, voice filled with indignation.

Keith just nods, mouth too occupied with eating to say anything. Hunk puffs out his chest. “Yeah, you’re right I’m awesome.”

They eat and Lance does all the talking while Keith stuffs his face with more Tacos. He just can’t get enough of them and Hunk seems really pleased when he sees Keith eat eagerly.

“So, Lance. Did you get your ass kicked by Allura?” Pidge asks with a wicked grin on her lips. Lance groans and leans back in his chair.

“Of course.”

Pidge cackles and rocks back into her chair.

“This is your fault, too!” Lance shouts, an accusing finger pointed to her face.

Pidge is still laughing so Hunk answers instead.

“Nope. We saved your sorry ass.”

“Second that,” Pidge chimes in.

“What happened?” Keith asks with an amused smile on his lips.

Hunk and Pidge share a look and Pidge then turns to Lance.

“Yeah, Lance, what happened?” she sneers.

“Nothing!” Lance shrieks and his cheeks color as he furiously waves his hands in denial. “I just got scolded for slacking off that’s all.”

“Yeah, because he was texting his bo-,“ Pidge starts, but Hunk almost chokes her, when he hurriedly puts his hand on her mouth.

Keith raises an eyebrow in question when Lance laughs, sounding a little bit hysterically.

“Allura didn’t seem like the type to yell, though,” Keith says, still confused.

Pidge holds on to Hunk’s shoulder when she topples over with laughter. Hunk chuckles and Lance flashes Keith a regretful smile.

“Dude, Allura is easily the scariest person I know,” Lance assures and Hunk nods vigorously with a scared expression on his face.

“Really?” Keith wonders, “She was so nice when I met her, though.”

“Yeah, she’s a real sunshine!” Hunk jabbers and smiles.

Keith is confused.

“Wait, which one is it now?”

Hunk and Lance share a look, nod and then turn to Keith.

“Both,” they declare in unison.

“You already met Allura?” Pidge chimes in and adjusts her glasses with one finger.

“Yeah, me and Shiro picked Lance up from practice once,” Keith answers and exhales. “Well she mostly talked to Shiro to be honest.”

Lance snickers. “Well Shiro sure wasn’t able to say anything.”

“Why is that?” Hunk inquires and looks at Keith.

“He was a _mess,_ “ Lance interrupts and giggles. “You should’ve seen him. His face was so red! He was just stammering like an idiot.”

Keith sighs and covers his eyes in second hand embarrassment. “It was horrible. I couldn’t look at it.”

“Well it seemed like Allura was also pretty much enchanted by Shiro,” Lance grins.

“Oho?” Hunk grins and reaches out to grab some chips from the bowl in the middle of the table. “Really, Allura?”

“Hunk, my beautiful egg. You haven’t _seen_ Shiro, yet,” Lance groans almost painfully, “He’s just… just…. Incredibly hot! I don’t think anyone could resist that body. And that _smile_!”

Lance dramatically swoons and falls back into his chair.

“Lance I think your gay is showing,” Pidge laughs. “He can’t be that beautiful. You’re just an idiot.”

“First of all, I’m not gay, Pidge! And-”

Keith stops listening. There’s a second in which he’s sure that his heart stops beating. Then panic takes over his brain, his whole body is frozen in shock. He knows that Lance is still talking but his voice is nothing but a muffled sound.

 _I’m not gay_. Keith hears this words on repeat in his head. How stupid. He just assumed that Lance likes guys. He didn’t even think that he might be….straight. Keith feels like someone just kneed him in the gut. He’s gripping the table with so much force his knuckles turn white. He needs to leave. Now. But he can’t move.

Slowly the world around him comes into focus again and he sees Hunk, looking at him with worried eyes. Keith didn’t hear a thing Lance said, but he sure hears Pidge next words.

“Well, then you’re a bisexual idiot. The important thing is, you’re still an idiot.”

“Why, Pidge?!” Lance whines and drops his head on the table.

“You’re the one that says representation matters.”

“Not that part, asshole,” Lance says with his cheek pressed to the table. “Besides everyone knows I’m bi.”

Bisexual. Lance is bisexual. In his panic Keith didn’t even think about this option. _He_ ’s the idiot, not Lance. Keith’s body slowly loses the tension that came with the desire to bold out of Lance’s apartment.

“Apparently, not everyone,” Hunk says and cranes his neck in Keith’s direction. Lance turns around so fast Keith is sure he’ll get whiplash. He stares at him with widened eyes, jaw slack with surprise.

“Keith!” Lance yells accusingly and leans in with a glare in his eyes. He gasps and puts his hand to his chest with an offended look on his face. “Did you think I’m… _straight_?!”

“No!” Keith exclaims and tries to push Lance away, he’s way too close for comfort.

“How could you!” Lance yells and dramatically throws his hands in the air, finally giving Keith some air to breath.

“Who am I to deny this body to anyone?” Lance declares.

“I still can’t believe it,” Lance mumbles but there’s a grin on his face when he looks at Keith.

“Yeah, usually that’s the first thing he tells everyone he meets,” Pidge rolls her eyes and then she changes the subject.

Keith listens but his thoughts are somewhere else entirely. He usually isn’t the type to panic like that, but the second he thought that it could be entirely impossible for Lance to like him back …. He was so scared he forgot to breath. Keith rubs his lips when the thought alone makes him feel sick again.

Still, Lance is amazing. So open all the time. Keith… isn’t like that. Sure, he would never lie about his sexuality, but he also doesn’t go out and tell everyone about it. Shiro is about the only one who he told that he’s gay.

Keith looks at Lance, who is laughing about Pidge’s imitation of Allura. _Lance… knows that I’m gay, right?_

 

* * *

 

“We have to go this way,” Hunk says and points in the other direction. Hunk decided to walk Pidge to the station because it’s already dark outside. Both of them wave as they turn around. Lance turns to Keith.

“Shall we?”

“You really don’t need to walk me to my bike, Lance,” Keith grumbles but follows Lance anyway.

“I told you I forgot to get something from the grocery store!” Lance exclaims and stuffs his hands into his pocket.

That’s a lie. He just wants to be with Keith as long as he can.

Keith snorts. “What’s so important that you need to get it this late?”

“Ice cream.”

Keith chuckles. “Okay.”

Lance knows that Keith can see right through his lies but apparently, he doesn’t want to call Lance out. Maybe he enjoys Lance’s company. The thought makes Lance grin.

“So, you really like Hunk and Pidge, huh?” Lance laughs and glances at Keith to see him smile.

“Yeah, they’re really amazing. I mean… Hunk’s cooking was…,” Keith can’t seem to find the words to describe it and just helplessly raises his hands.

Lance laughs. “I know right? I told him so many times that he should open his own restaurant.”

“And Pidge is so smart, is there a thing she doesn’t know?!” Keith throws his arms in the air and Lance laughs again. He could tell how much Keith enjoyed talking to Pidge, those two were on one wavelength. “And she’s pretty scary, I don’t know if I could win in a fight”, Keith murmurs.

“Don’t try it, man. You’ll get killed.”

The corners of Keith’s mouth twitch down as he nods. “I agree.”

Lance inhales the fresh night air as they walk in silence. He talked so much tonight, he doesn’t know what to say. But walking in silence with Keith is also nice. It’s gotten pretty cold so Lance buries his face deeper into his jacket. _It’s the perfect weather to hold hands,_ he thinks. If it was Hunk next to him, he would’ve just reached out and took his hand, but just thinking about taking Keith’s hand makes his heart go crazy in his chest.

Lance glances at Keith from the corner of his eyes and blinks in surprise when he sees Keith’s tense shoulders. Keith looks like he wants to say something, his face all scrunched up in a brooding expression.

It’s his thinking face. Lance knows that much already and almost chuckles. Keith is an impulsive person but sometimes he needs some time to sort out his thoughts. So, Lance decides to give him some time, humming a little tune as they walk.

But Lance can’t deny that he’s kind of nervous. What could Keith possibly be thinking about this hard?   _God, what if he confesses right now?_ His heart skips a beat and he stops humming. _That’s stupid, Lance. Get a grip._

Lance actually flinches, when Keith starts talking.

“Lance.”

Lance turns to look at Keith, who is biting his lips, brows furrowed in a nervous and worried expression. Lance’s heart starts beating again, but too hard and too fast to be healthy.

“Yeah?”

“I’m gay.”

Lance stops in his tracks.

“That’s it? Dude! You scared me, you should’ve seen your face! I thought you’d say something…”

Lance stops and tilts his head, when he sees how Keith looks at him, his left hand rubbing his arm in a nervous gesture.

Keith was scared to tell him.

To be honest Lance already guessed that Keith is gay, considering how he instantly flirted with Lance. But he knows that it still takes a lot of courage to say it.

Lance smiles and wraps one arm around Keith’s shoulders and pulls him into his side. “Thank you for telling me, though.” Keith glances up, but immediately averts his eyes, when he sees how close Lance is. “I… just thought you should know,” he whispers and Lance can see how a blush finds his way on to his cheeks.

Lance sighs. “You’re too cute,” he breathes and without thinking Lance leans in and kisses his temple. It’s just a short peck, but Keith’s face lights up like a bonfire.

Lance wraps his arm around Keith’s neck and pulls him forward, trying to hide his own embarrassment.

“We should shout it out into the world, Keith!” he says and then he yells: “WE’RE GAY AND PROUD!”

“Lance!” Keith hisses and tries to pry himself out of Lance’s hug. The woman on the other side of the road glares at them and pulls her dog along faster. Lance just laughs and let’s go of Keith.

“You’re so stupid,” Keith breathes but he chuckles when Lance protests: “Why is everyone saying this today?!”

“Because it’s true.”

“Fuck you, Keith,” Lance laughs and flips him off.

They keep bickering until they reach Keith’s bike. Lance wonders if he purposely parked this far away, but how should he have known that Lance would walk him here?

“Thanks for keeping me company,” Keith says with a wicked grin that has Lance thinking that maybe he did plan it after all.

Keith gets on his bike and Lance swallows. He’ll never get used to how _good_ Keith looks like this.

“Then…. Goodbye.”

“Bye,” Lance grins and he really _really_ wants to lean down to kiss that stupid pretty smile on Keith’s face.

The bike roars to life and Lance eyes follow  until he can’t see it anymore.

Lance inhales deeply and grins. “Time to get that boy, Lance.”

***

“Sweetheart?”

“Mhm, no.”

“My love?”

“Better, but still too cheesy.”

“Babe!”

“That’s it!” Hunk exclaims and puts down the coffee he was drinking.

“Guys, shouldn’t Lance like, you know, confess before you decide the perfect pet name for Keith?”, Pidge comments, not taking her eyes from the notes in front of her.

“Lance distracted me!” Hunk complains.

“Yeah, obviously he doesn’t want to talk about it,” Pidge lectures and sends Lance an accusing glance. Lance grunts indignantly.

“What? No! I’m just trying to come up with the perfect plan! It’s not that easy, Pidge!”

“It is. Just tell him.”

“Hunk!” Lance turns to Hunk to get some help, but Hunk just raises his shoulders in an apologetic gesture.

“Maybe… Pidge is right? Don’t think too much about it, dude. Just… say it?”

Lance dramatically sinks back into the chair with a loud sigh. It’s a lively afternoon at the tiny café they visit often and Lance looks at the cute couple at the table next to them. He sighs again.

“Not think about it. Right. As if that’s so easy.”

Hunk sends him a sympathetic look, but it seems like even Hunk doesn’t know what to say. Lance knows that in the end he’s the one, who has to gain the courage to tell Keith. He’s just… scared. Again. Although he told himself that he’s done with that.

His smartphone lights up and tells him that someone is calling him. Keith.

“Great timing,” Pidge snickers and Lance sends her a glare before he picks up.

“Hello, Mullet-man.”

He chuckles when he hears Keith groan.

“Can you stop calling me that?”

“Not a chance.”

“Great.” Lance can hear the smile in Keith voice and grins.

“Why’re you calling me, Mullet.”

“That’s not any better, Lance.”

“Come on, I know you like it.”

“I really don’t.”

“You’re not into pet names?”

There’s a short silence on the other side.

“Is that what it is? It sounds more like an insult to me.”

“No way, man! I love your stupid mullet!”

“You just called it stupid.”

“Did not.”

“You did!” Keith exclaims and then groans. Lance chuckles in response.

“So, what can I do for you?”

“Um… do you remember that movie you mentioned a while ago? This alien movie? You showed me a trailer a few weeks ago.”

“Oh, right I remember!”

“Well, it premiered yesterday and I was thinking that… maybe you want to go see it with me?”

Lance doesn’t answer immediately. He totally forgot about that. But Keith remembered that he wants to see it. There’s a warm flutter in his stomach. God, he _really_ likes Keith.

“Sure!”

There’s a relieved exhale. “Great. Are you free tomorrow?”

“I have training first, but I’m free in the evening.”

“Good.”

“Great.”

Lance closes his eyes, when he hears the soft laugh through his phone. He wants to see Keith, right now. He wants to see him every day actually.

“Then,” Keith draws out the word. “See you tomorrow.”

“Yeah.”

“Goodbye,” Keith says in such a soft and warm tone that Lance swoons.

“Love you, Bye,” Lance says and hangs up.

He sinks back into his chair with a grin and a delighted sigh. Then he hears Pidge’s voice.

“Dude.”

“What?” Lance hisses and looks at her, bracing himself for Pidge’s nasty comments about his flirting.

“You just confessed to Keith.”

Pidge’s notes lie forgotten in front of her and she’s staring at Lance with disbelief.

“What are you saying? That was a perfectly normal conversation,” Lance counters and raises his eyebrows.

“Dude! You just said:  Love you, Bye!” Pidge explains and leans forward in her seat.

“No, I didn’t,” Lance snorts, but Pidge looks at him with a serious expression and suddenly doubt and fear raise in his stomach.

He turns to look at Hunk.

“H-Hunk?”

Hunk is clutching his coffee in both hands and stares at him with wide fearful eyes and nods.

And suddenly Lance remembers. _Bye. Love you._

He leaps up from his seat and screams: “I JUST CONFESSED TO KEITH!”

“I TOLD YOU!” Pidge yells, panic in her voice.

“FUCK FUCK FUCK!” he curses and digs his fingers into his hair. “What do I DO?”

“Did he say something?” Hunk asks and puts his coffee down.

“I don’t KNOW!” Lance shrieks and plumps back into his chair.

Pidge just looks back and forth between Hunk and Lance, clearly overstrained by this situation.

“Hunk, what should we do?” she asks and Lance would find it adorable if he weren’t freaking out right now.

“Call him back!”

“What?!”

“DO IT!” Hunk yells and Lance reaches for his phone with shaky fingers. He presses it to his ear and tries to breath.

“WHAT DO I EVEN SAY WHEN HE PICKS UP?!” he squeals and Pidge answers: “Whatever you do, don’t yell at him!”

So Lance holds his breath and waits, but all he hears is a voice telling him, that Keith is not available at the moment.

His hands fall into his lap. His body feels cold.

“What? What happened?” Pidge urges.

“I fucked up,” Lance croaks.

 

* * *

 

Keith blindly dials the number with trembling fingers. He didn’t even realize that he was calling him, when he hears a voice.

“Keith? Keith! Hello?”

“Shiro,” Keith voice sounds small and broken.

“Keith! Are you okay, did something happen?” Shiro sounds worried and Keith has never been so grateful that Shiro immediately knows when something is wrong.

Keith tries to say something but he has to clear his throat first.

“Lance just kind of … confessed to me?”

There’s a short pause and then a relieved laugh.

“Finally! I thought you two would dance around each other forever! That’s good news, isn’t it? … Keith?” There’s a short pause. “Oh god please don’t tell me you rejected him!”

Keith groans and covers his eyes. “No! I… I didn’t have the chance to say anything.”

“Keith, what happened?”

“We were talking on the phone and then he just said Love you, bye. And I don’t know If he just said that on a whim or if he meant it and what the HELL should I do?” Keith voice is shaking and his panic is making it hard to breath.

“First: Take a deep breath, Keith,” Shiro advises in a calm voice.

“Okay.”

Keith takes in a deep breath.

“And now: YOU HANG THE FUCK UP!”

“WHAT?!” Keith yells.

“That poor boy is probably trying to call you back! Hang up and talk to him!”

“Okay, okay! Stop screaming, Jesus. I’ll hang up now.”

“DO IT!”

And with that Shiro hangs up. Keith can’t believe it. Shiro just cursed… and yelled. He must have really fucked up.

Shiro was right. There’s a missed call on his phone. Lance. Keith takes another deep breath and presses the call button.

 

 

* * *

 

 

“Call him again!” Hunk says, grabs Lance phone and tosses it to Lance.

Lance instinctively catches it.

“HE CLEARLY DOESN’T WANT TO TALK TO ME HUNK. I FUCKED UP!”

Lance throws the phone back to Hunk in a panic. Fear is holding his heart in a tight embrace, he can’t think.

“Lance! Let me say it for the last time: He likes you! He was probably just… shocked!” Hunk explains and flings the phone back to Lance, who catches it.

“HE HATES ME!” Lance cries and throws the phone back to Hunk.

“That’s stupid and you- “

The sudden sound of a ringing phone interrupts Hunk. They both freeze and look at the phone in Hunk’s hands which is flashing Keith’s name. Lance stares at it for a solid second, then he dashes at Hunk, flinging himself over the table, knocking down Pidge’s notes and Hunk’s coffee.

“GIVE ME THAT GODDAMN PHONE, HUNK!”

Lance pries it out of Hunk’s hands and presses the green button.

“Hi,” he says breathlessly.

Hunk’s hand finds the small of his back to support him. Both physically, so he won’t fall off the table, and emotionally.

“Hi,” Keith answers, his voice sounds just as breathless and suddenly Lance is calm. His heart is still beating like crazy but he’s not going to hurl all over Hunk in a panic.

“So...,” Keith begins and he sounds so nervous that Lances feels a sharp sting in his heart. Keith called him. Lance takes a deep breath.

“I want to see you today, is that okay?”

Keith sounds startled when he answers.

“Uh…Y-yes, but I have training so… is tonight okay?”

“Yeah, I just… want to talk to you.”

He hears how Keith inhales sharply and his voice breaks when he answers: “O-okay.”

Lance closes his eyes. He doesn’t want Keith to be scared or think the wrong thing so he gathers all the courage he has and says: “I want to tell you properly tonight. So wait for me.”

There’s a short pause in which Lance thinks he’s dying but then he hears the smile in Keith voice.

“All right, I’ll wait for you.”

Then they hang up and Lance just drops dead on the table with a loud groan. Hunk kisses the top of his head. “Good job, Lance.”

Pidge pats his shoulder. “I’m so proud of you,” she says and then: “But how will you survive classes today?”

“Oh my god!” Lance groans into the table. “I’ll die.”

Hunk reassuringly pats his head. “There, There. You’re going to be fine. But first… get off the table, Lance. People are staring.”

Lance only whines in response. This is going to be a _long_ day.

 

* * *

 

There was simply no way Keith could concentrate on training with Lance words spinning in his head. _I want to tell you properly tonight._

His face combusts into flames and he skates directly into a wall. “Keith!” He turns around to look at Shiro, who beckons to him. Keith skates the short distance and pulls a face when Shiro breathes out in exhaustion. “Keith, go home.”

“No! Shiro, I’m fine!” Keith bristles, clutching his stick close to his chest.

“Keith. You ran into a wall. Three times. Just …,” Shiro groans and rubs his eyes. “Please, go home.”

Usually Keith would argue but… Shiro _does_ have a point.

“Okay, I guess I’m not… focused today,” Keith concedes and he can feel the heat rising to his cheeks. Again.

He feels a hand on his shoulders and then Shiro is sending him one of his calming smiles. “Get some rest. It’s going to be fine.”

Keith nods and skates off the ice, not missing the curious glances he gets from his teammates. He takes a deep breath. _He’s going to be fine._

                                                                                              ***

He’s NOT fine. Not at all. Keith’s stomach is a nervous disaster and he’s pacing up and down in front of the door. Lance texted him ten minutes ago, that he’s on his way to Keith’s apartment and Keith already called Shiro three times. His heart is beating so hard he can feel it in his throat, trying to suffocate him. He’s never been this nervous in his _entire life._

Keith is just contemplating to call Shiro again, when the doorbell rings. He flinches so hard he sends his phone flying across the room. Keith stomach sinks and a nervous tingle fills his body.

This is it. Keith takes a deep breath. Lance is right behind that door. Every nerve in his body is telling him to run, but he takes two shaky steps to the door. And opens it.

And there Lance is. Face flushed and out of breath, like he ran all the way to see him, and he’s so stunningly beautiful that Keith’s heart skips a beat. “Hi,” Lance says breathlessly and closes the door behind him.

And then Lance smiles and suddenly a hot wave of affection surges up inside Keith’s body, threatening to drown him. His voice sounds hoarse when he speaks.

“I like you.”

Lance’s face undergoes a whirl of emotion. His eyes widen in surprise, then his face burst into a bright crimson blush and finally into a beautiful, shy smile.

“I like you, too.”

All the tension in Keith’s body leaves him with one breath and he grins back.

Lance takes the last steps to cross the distance between them and rests his forehead on Keith’s shoulder with a deep sigh.

Keith freezes for a second, not knowing what to do with his hands, with Lance so close to him.  Then he carefully places them on Lance’s hips. Lance sighs again, but this time it sounds more pleased than exhausted.

Lance laughs and Keith can feel the vibration of it on his hands.

“We’re really stupid, aren’t we?”

“Well I’m not the one who confessed on the phone by accident.”

“RUDE!” Lance bristles and raises his head. “I’m the one who brought us together!”

Keith laughs and suddenly he is very aware of the fact that Lance is _close_. Lance’s hands somehow found their way to Keith’s chest and he’s sure that Lance can feel his heart beating nervously. Keith swallows and licks his lips.

“So… are we … boyfriends now?”

Keith can feel how Lance’s finger clutch around the material of his shirt. The flush that’s still covering Lance’s face, spreads to his ears and down his collarbones. Lance swallows and averts his eyes. He opens his lips, closes them, and has to clear his throat.

“I- I guess? I mean!” he sputters, looking down at his fidgeting hands. Keith has never seen him like that. His voice a small, flustered mess and at a loss for words. “Only if … you want to?”

Lance lifts his gaze, looking at him shyly and Keith _loves_ it.

“I want to,” he says and then he crosses the small distance between them and kisses Lance. He hears a soft, surprised gasp when his lips touch Lance’s. Keith immediately pulls back at the sound, face burning.

“I, oh god, I’m sorry! Was that, okay? I’m…,” Keith stutters but stops when he hears a soft giggle.

“That was more than okay, Keith.”

Keith forgets how to breath when he sees how Lance bashfully looks at him through long, dark eyelashes. Keith licks his lips. They are so close he can feel Lance’s breath.

Lance slowly slides his hands from Keith’s chest to the back of his neck and tilts his head.

“Do it again,” he whispers and Keith loses all reason. He leans in and pulls Lance closer at the same time.

Keith expected their first kiss to be shy and clumsy, which it kind of was because he messed it up, but, _oh_ , he should have known better.

Lance meets him with the same passion that’s burning in his veins; lips, soft and welcoming. Lance’s body melts into his touch and Lance sighs pleasantly at the first brush of his lips. Lance’s hands immediately find their way into Keith hair and Lance presses closer, willingly opening his wet lips. Keith can taste his sweet breath, and he would swear that this is an illusion, but the way Lance pulls his hair, when Keith licks into his hot mouth tells him that this is _very_ real.

Keith is drowning in the soft sounds that are leaving Lance’s mouth with every slide of Keith’s lips against his. Keith is burning. It’s not enough.

He tightens his grip on Lance’s waist, his fingers biting into Lance’s skin so hard he might bruise him. Keith has only a millisecond to think that he doesn’t want to hurt him, when Lance _keens_ into the kiss.

_Oh._

Heat pools in the pit of Keith’s stomach. He tightens his grip some more and feels how a shiver wrecks Lance’s body and another shaky sigh leaves Lance’s lips. Keith knows that Lance is a really vocal person, but the needy sounds that Lance breathes into his mouth are driving him insane.

With new found confidence, Keith captures Lance’s bottom lip between his and bites down. Lance right out _moans_ into the kiss and Keith swears under his breath, arousal heating up his body. By now he’s _sure_ that his fingers will leave bruises on Lance’s skin. The thought of the dark imprint of his touch on Lance’s tanned skin rips a deep groan from his lips, and he can more feel than hear how Lance’s breath hitches.

Suddenly Lance separates their lips and slumps his head on Keith’s shoulder with a whine. Keith can feel his heartbeat in his whole body, breath still going wild.

“We should stop, before I swoon in your arms,” Lance laughs breathlessly.

“I feel dizzy,” Keith sighs and Lance chuckles.

Keith carefully loosens the death grip he has on Lance’s hips and they both go still when Lance whimpers.

Lance lifts his head and looks at Keith. Keith swallows and clears his throat.

“Sorry,” Keith croaks.

Lance’s eyes are glassy and dark and – there’s the dangerous glint again, that makes Keith heart skip a beat.

“It’s okay, I like it.”

Keith swallows down the helpless sound that desperately wants to escape his lips. This is dangerous.

Lance laughs and untangles his fingers from Keith’s hair.

“Your mullet is unexpectedly soft,” he whispers and plays with a strand of Keith’s hair. Keith closes his eyes and hums at the soft touch. He can still feel his heart beating too fast, but the searing heat is slowly leaving his body. Keith leans into the touch but opens his eyes in annoyance when he hears Lance chuckle.

“You’re cute,” Lance laughs.

“And you’re kinky,” Keith mumbles and leans in, to silence him with a quick kiss. He feels how Lance grins against his lips, stretching out his arms behind Keith’s neck.

“And you like it,” Lance whispers and wiggles his eyebrows when they separate.

Keith groans and knows that his face is beet-red. “God, Shut up!”

“Make me,” Lance grins.

“Stop teasing me,” Keith hisses through gritted teeth.

“Or what?” Lance asks with a challenging smile.

“I will throw you out.”

Lance gasps. “You wouldn’t dare to-“

The rest is drowned in screaming and then laughter, when Keith suddenly picks Lance’s legs up and carries him like a princess.

“I wouldn’t dare to … what?” Keith asks, a teasing smile on his face.

“Okay, okay! I get it! You won!” Lance laughs and helplessly flails his legs in the air.

“Good,” Keith laughs and leans down to place a kiss on Lance’s head. _God, when did I get so affectionate_?, Keith thinks and blames it on Lance.

“So where do you plan to take me, my prince?” Lance purrs and usually Keith would cringe at these sickly-sweet words but Lance looks so cute and perfect in Keith’s arms that he thinks: _Fuck it._

He leans down and gives Lance his sweetest smile.  

“Wherever you want, princess.”

 


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the first time I'm kind of sad while uploading a chapter haha!  
> So first I have to put a warning for this chapter, because someone uses a slur in this one. .. but I SWEAR that it's not that bad! D:  
> Also: I don't know a thing about ice hockey! BUT I did a good amount of research for this chapter, so I won't write complete BS! Still I'm sorry if I messed anything up!  
> I hope you like it :D

„Keith. “

Keith groans and presses his face further into the pillow.

“Hey, Keith. Keith!”

Maybe if he doesn’t react it will stop.

“Keiiiiiiiith!”

“Oh my god, what!”, Keith hisses into his pillow but doesn’t move an inch. It’s been two month but he’s still not used to the human alarm clock in his bed. Keith is a heavy sleeper. Almost nothing can wake him up. Nothing but a _really_ annoying boyfriend.

“I’m bored. Entertain me.”

“Entertain yourself,” Keith groans and wants to go back to sleep.

“Okay. But you know how loud I am when I entertain myself. You won’t get any sleep either way,” Lance purrs and suddenly Keith is _very_ awake.

At least he’s awake enough to turn his head to look at Lance and …sees him sitting up against the headboard with tired eyes and a lazy grin on his lips.

“You’re not doing anything.”

“Nah, I’m too lazy,” Lance grins and stretches out his arms towards Keith, motioning him to come closer.

Keith rolls his eyes and sinks back into the pillow.

“Come on, Keith don’t fight it. You need all of your strength today.”

“I know, that’s why I was trying to get more sleep,” Keith groans but rolls over to plop down on Lance’s chest with a huff.

Lance laughs and Keith can feel it vibrating in his chest. Lance brings his hand to Keith’s back, rubbing soothing circles into his skin and a pleased sigh leaves Keith’s lips. He scoots closer and tangles their legs together under the white sheets. Lance hums contently and Keith can feel his soft breath in his hair.

It’s still early, the sun illuminates the room in a soft orange. Keith closes his eyes. He could immediately fall asleep again, embraced by Lance calming presence. But Lance decides to start talking.

“I couldn’t sleep any longer I’m too excited,” Lance chuckles, voice still hoarse with sleep and Keith only hums in response. After all this time, he finally managed to invite Lance to one of his plays. He clearly remembers that night, when he made that promise, and how Shiro had saved him with that idea.

 _It’s strange, to think that there was a time where Lance wasn’t a part of my life,_ Keith thinks and a melancholic feeling tugs at his heart.

“Shiro already texted me, he’ll come get us in an hour.”

Keith groans and buries his face in Lance’s chest. It’s too early to think about that.

“Please, don’t talk about Shiro now.”

“Why? I would love it if you talked about Shiro in bed with me,” Lance purrs and Keith pinches his side.

“I’m joking!” Lance laughs and wraps both of his arms around Keith. “Look I’m in your arms right now so don’t worry.”

“Right now, I’m in your arms,” Keith mumbles and Lance giggles softly into his ear.

“And I like it.”

Warmth spreads in Keith’s chest, when Lance kisses the top of his head. Keith likes these soft moments between them but … he’s not really good at initiating them. So, he lifts his head and quietly demands a kiss by staring at Lance. Usually he doesn’t have to wait long. Keith feels how his cheeks heat up when a knowing smile appears on Lance’s lips.

Lance doesn’t mind kissing him in the morning. But at first Keith didn’t want to do it. He was scared that Lance might be grossed out by his morning breath. When Keith told him Lance forcefully took his face into both of his hands and squished his cheeks together before kissing him.

“Keith, I love you and your stinky morning breath!”

So, he sighs contently when Lance willingly leans in to press a gentle kiss to his lips. Keith will probably never stop being overwhelmed by how _soft_ Lance’s lips are. He can feel Lance smile against his mouth when he practically melts into the kiss. There are still butterflies in his stomach even after kissing Lance what feels like a million times.

“Stinky,” Lance chuckles against his mouth. He yelps when Keith puts his hands on his shoulders to push him into the mattress.

Keith immediately attacks his neck, a sensitive spot that always makes Lance squirm one way or another, and showers him in kisses. A squeaky laugh bubbles out of Lance’s mouth and Keith grins against his skin. Lance hands immediately fly up to push him away.

“Stop it!”

“Surrender!”

“Never!” Lance laughs and squeals in surprise when Keith grabs his hands to pin them beside his face.

“Then I’m going to make you surrender,” Keith growls, and there it is again. The glint in Lance’s eyes that he learned to love. The obvious sign that Lance _likes_ something.

Lance’s breath hitches when Keith kisses his collarbone and down his chest. He feels how Lance trembles when he playfully bites the soft skin of his belly. Keith lifts his head to look at Lance, who is unconsciously biting his lip. A mischievous grin appears on Keith’s face, right before he inhales and blows a raspberry on Lance’s stomach.

Lance shrieks and tries to squirm free, but Keith is still holding onto his wrists.

“Okay,” Lance cackles. “I surrender!”

Keith stops and grins, when he straightens up to look down at Lance. His face is flushed and there are tears in his eyes.

“You suck,” Lance wheezes and Keith chuckles, when he plops back down on Lance’s chest.

“You started it.”

Lance breathes a sign of relief and starts playing with Keith’s hair.

“I thought you were going to make a move on me.”

“Nah, too tired,” Keith mutters and Lance snickers.

“Well, I think I already have enough bruises as it is."

Keith frowns and lifts the blanket. Lance is still naked and Keith takes a second to appreciate the glorious sight in front of him. He’s sure that he will never grow tired of this view.

He clearly remembers the first time he saw Lance; the sight of those legs that nearly made him go _insane_. He also remembers how he almost died when he touched them that night.

And now he remembers _last_ night and the desperate sob that was ripped from Lance’s lips when Keith sank his teeth into the soft flesh of his thighs.

Lance’s thighs are indeed covered in dark blue bruises and red bite marks, and Keith raises an eyebrow in surprise. Maybe he was a little bit… too eager last night.

“Sorry,” he whispers and his hand slides down Lance’s body to carefully caress the sensitive skin of his thighs.

“You know I like it,” Lance hums but inhales sharply when Keith presses down on a particularly dark bruise. The shiver and the soft high pitched sound, that follows when Keith playfully pushes in again, coax a grin out of Keith.

“Stop it,” Lance whines when Keith looks at him. His face is already colored in a delicious red and Keith leans up to place a kiss on those pink lips.

“I’ll have to wear my long jammer tomorrow,” Lance groans but leans into the kiss. “I hate it.”

“Then don’t do it,” Keith says and kisses the corner of his mouth.

“So, everyone can see this?!”

Keith presses his forehead to Lance’s and looks right into his eyes when he whispers: “Let them know that you’re mine.”

A beautiful breathy whine leaves Lance’s lips when he buries his hands in Keith’s hair to pull him in for a bruising kiss. And now _this_ is something Keith knows how to do.

He savors every soft sound that leaves Lance’s lips, when he licks into his mouth. Enjoys the way Lance trembles under his hands, when Keith playfully nibbles at his bottom lip. _Loves_ the shuddered moan that Lance breathes into his mouth, when Keith presses his thump into the bruise on his thight.

“Keith,” Lance whines and his head falls back, when Keith’s nails scratch his hipbone.

“Hm?” Keith bites into the delicate skin of Lance’s neck.

“We should really stop or we’ll be late.”

Keith groans and his head drops to Lance’s chest. He knows that Lance is right, he still doesn’t like it though.

“Don’t be a whiny baby,” Lance laughs and ruffles his hair.

Keith only snorts in response and Lance leans in to breath the next words into Keith’s ear: “Who knows, maybe you’ll get a reward if you play a good game.”

Arousal shivers through Keith’s body and he snaps his head up to see the seductive grin on Lance’s lips. He wants to ask what he means, but his mouth is suddenly very dry.

“Now get up, lover boy, you’ve got a game to win!” he says and Keith yelps when Lance slaps his ass.

 

* * *

 

Lance didn’t expect it to be this loud. The stadium is small, but crowded. Most people are dressed in red and white, the colors of Team Voltron. Lance looks down at his clothes and frowns.

“Why didn’t Keith tell me to dress up?! I feel lame,” he pouts and Hunk nudges his shoulder while laughing.

“It’s fine, we can do it next time.”

“I want to try that face paint thing, too!” Lance exclaims and whips around to beam at Hunk.

“Sure,” Hunk chuckles, when Lance turns his attention back to the ice. “Maybe Pidge can come too.”

“Yeah, too bad she has a match today,” Lance says absentmindedly, when his gaze flicker down to the bench at the sidelines. The stadium is so small, that there’s only a waist high glass separating the bench from the seats for the spectators.

“Relax, they will show up soon,” Hunk laughs and pats his shoulder so hard, that Lance flinches in pain.

He rubs the spot and sends Hunk a glare, before he stares down to the ice once again. Lance has never been to a Hockey Play before, but Keith told him so many stories that he’s excited to see what it’s like. Keith also tried to explain the rules, but … to be honest Lance wasn’t really listening. That night he was too distracted by Keith’s hands, that were caressing his legs, to really pay attention to anything that was coming out of his mouth.

Lance is ripped out of this particularly nice memory, when the crowd roars to live.

“There they are!” Hunk screams, but his words are still almost swallowed by the loud cheers. Lance’s eyes find the small door, where the players spill onto the ice. His heart is beating fast in his chest, when he looks for the number 4, and when he finds it the world comes to a halt.

Keith has his helmet still tucked under his arm and determinedly skates onto the ice. His hair is tied up in a ponytail and he looks exactly like he did the first time they met. Lance’s heart almost lurches out of his chest and he stops breathing. He is overwhelmed by the rush of affection that this sight evokes in him.

He feels it bubbling up his chest and into his throat, and it’s too much to bear, so he jumps to his feet and screams as loud as he can: “KEITH!”

He hears a surprised sound next to him and if his shout was loud enough to startle Hunk, and the people next to him, then it must have been loud enough for Keith. At least that’s what Lance hopes. His stomach does a happy little flip, when Keith lifts his head and looks in their direction. Lance starts jumping and waving.

“Lance sit down!” Hunk hisses, but Lance doesn’t care because their eyes lock and there’s a smile on Keith’s face, when he returns the wave.

Lance makes a high-pitched sound and actually swoons back into his seat.

“Geez, you’ve got it bad,” Hunk laughs and supports Lance, so he won’t just slip down to the floor like the boneless mess he is.

Lance sees how Keith laughs and he’s still looking at Lance, when one of his teammates comes up and says something to him. Keith replies without taking his eyes of Lance and suddenly there’s such a fond expression on his face, that Lance wants to fling himself down onto the ice to kiss him. A helpless groan escapes him instead.

But Keith’s smile slowly turns into a frown, when he turns around to look at the guy. He says something but then the referee signalizes them to get ready. Keith puts on his helmet and gets into position, next to the guy, who wears the number 10.

There are a few seconds, where the players settle down. Keith is at the very front, facing a guy from the opponent team, who is dressed in black and purple. They are both hunched and stare at the referee.  
There’s no signal, no warning sound, the referee just drops the puck and hell breaks loose.

And Lance _knows_ that Keith is good, heard it from him and Shiro more than once, but he is completely caught off guard, when he sees how _fast_ Keith really is.

“Holy shit”, he breathes and his eyes can barely follow the figure on the ice. Keith is fast as lighting and seems to quickly take control of the game.

He passes the puck, when a player from the other team checks him. Keith stumbles, but gets right back on track. Lance, however, leapt right out of his seat, screaming: “HUNK! IS THAT ALLOWED?!”

Hunk sends his neighbor an apologetic smile, when he pulls Lance back into his seat. “Lance, calm down! And yes, that’s allowed!”

“Geez, what kind of crazy game is this,” Lance mutters under his breath. He’s sitting straight up, too pumped with adrenaline and worry to relax back into his seat.

Keith is already chasing after his opponent, who managed to steal the puck. And although Lance doesn’t know a thing about Hockey, it’s obvious that his teammates rely on Keith. The crowd goes wild, when Keith snatches the puck in an impossible move. He quickly passes it to another teammate, when another player runs straight into him and shoves him hard against the wall.

“HUNK!” Lance screams and grabs Hunk’s shirt, almost jumping into his lap. “HE HURT HIM! IS THAT NORMAL?!” Hunk makes a choking sound, when Lance pulls him down by the collar.

“That’s normal, Lance!” he croaks, and tries to pry Lance’s hands from his throat. “Look he gets a penalty for that move!” Lance releases his death grip, when he sees how Keith immediately scrambles back to his feet and the referee blows his whistle to send the guy from the ice.  

The thing is Lance _knew_ that it’s a violent sport, he sees Keith’s bruises all the time, but to see someone you love get beat up right in front of your eyes is something else entirely. His heart stops every time someone of the different team gets even remotely close to Keith and Hunk has to endure his painful screeching for the first third of the game.

Keith’s team is leading by the time they enter their first break.

Lance relaxes, when he sees how Keith talks to Shiro in the short break. He took of his helmet and a few strands of his hair are sticking to his sweaty forehead. Lance hears how Hunk clears his throat, maybe Lance really did choke him too hard a few times. But his attention is entirely captivated by Keith.

Lance clearly remembers how he brushed a strand of hair out of Keith’s face, when he met him in the Emergency room. How he was immediately enraptured by his beautiful features.

Keith lifts his arms to fix his ponytail. And now Lance relives how he helped Keith get out of that uniform, remembers the exposed strip of pale skin, that he desperately wanted to touch. And that he now knows how Keith’s stomach twitches every time he caresses him there.

“He’s going to be okay,” Hunk says in a reassuring voice and puts his hand on Lance’s arm.

“Huh?” Lance snaps out of his daydream and turns to Hunk, who seems to mistake Lance distraction with worry.

“Keith is tough.”

Lance chuckles.

“Yeah, he is.”

Lance is still happy, that Hunk’s there with him. He doesn’t know how the crowd can cheer every time someone gets body checked, he almost gets a heart attack every time it happens.

“Still, I could enjoy this more if Keith wouldn’t be in the freaking center of this mess all the time,” Lance groans and puts his head on Hunk’s shoulder.

“Seriously though, Keith is _amazing,”_ Hunk says and Lance groans into the fabric of Hunk’s shirt.

“God, I know! I want to go down there and… and…ugh!”

Lance indecisively waves his hands.

“Smooch him?”

“YES!”

Hunk laughs. “Well, even I have to admit that’s pretty hot.”

“I know!” Lance whips his head up.

“You have to endure another forty minutes of gameplay, probably more, before you get to do that though,” Hunk chuckles and a painful groan leaves Lance’s lips when he sees how the players re-enter the rink.

This time Lance is prepared for the violence, which makes it a little easier to endure. By now he also got a basic idea about what is going on on the field.

And until now they’ve been doing a great job, but now Keith lost the puck to an opponent after a particularly hard shove that made Lance flinch. Keith struggles to stay on his feet and number 10 grabs his arm and pulls him upright.

He doesn’t let go of Keith’s arm though and it seems like he is saying something. And then Keith shoves him hard against his chest. The other guy is immediately at his throat, pulling Keith in by the collar of his uniform.

“HUNK! Is THAT normal?!” Lance asks and he already knows that it’s not, when he hears how Hunk’s voice breaks.

“N-No, that’s…”

His sentence gets drowned in a loud groan, when Keith’s fist connects with the jaw of number 10.

Lance shrieks, when the other guy pulls back his arm and punches Keith in the face. Keith’s head flies to the side and Lance is immediately on his feet. He sees how Keith whips around to return the favor, when Lance is already halfway down the stairs, and he’s distantly aware of Hunk screaming his name behind him.

Lance is almost at the sideline, when he sees how Keith’s teammates finally pull them apart. The referee is immediately at their side, blowing his whistle.

Lance almost stumbles on the last step, but suddenly Hunk’s hands are on his waist, stopping him from falling.

“Lance! You can’t be here!”

“He punched him!” Lance spits over his shoulder and wiggles out of Hunk’s grip. But a security guy is already standing in front of them, staring at Lance with a warning look in his eyes.

“Okay, okay! I won’t go any closer,” Lance says and raises both of his hands. “I just want to see if he’s okay.”

Hunk sighs before he lets go of Lance.

“All right.”

“What’s happening now?” Lance asks, when he sees how Keith enters a box at the side of the rink. “Why does he have to sit in a box? What is he, an animal?”

“Well he DID punch someone in the face,” Hunk says and pulls a face. “Seems like he got a five-minute penalty.”

“Five minutes?!”

“Well, to be honest it could’ve been worse. I don’t think it’s common for teammates to fight during a play.”

They are close enough to see Keith sitting impatiently in the box and with one look Lance can tell that Keith is _furious_.

“Ugh now they have to play shorthanded, that’s not good,” Hunk groans and Lance glances at Shiro, who is walking up and down with a scowl on his face.

“Just what was Keith thinking?” Hunk asks and Lance looks at Keith. He knows that Keith has a bad temper. But he also knows that he would never do something like that without a solid reason.

“I don’t know,” Lance whispers and presses his lips into a thin line.

They only have five more minutes to play, when Keith finally gets back onto the ice. He seems calmer after that forced break, but Lance can still see a certain tension to his shoulders.

He doesn’t even think of going back to his seat before he gets a better look at Keith.

Lance lets out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding, when they enter their second break. Both Keith and the number 10 make their way to the bench.  

Keith wipes his lips with his thump when he enters the tiny booth, and Lance wheezes when he sees blood sticking to the corner of his mouth. He clings to Hunk’s sleeve so he won’t tackle down the security guard in order to get to Keith.

“What were you doing out there?!”

Lance flinches at the sharp sound of Shiro’s voice. They are close enough to hear him over the mumbling crowd.

“You are supposed to fight the opponent team, not your own teammates!”

Keith averts his eyes and clicks his tongue in annoyance.

The other guy feels his left eye with one hand and Lance can’t help the proud rush in his chest, when he sees that it’s already bruising. Serves him right.

“He started it,” number 10 says and cranes his neck in Keith’s direction.

Keith whips around and opens his mouth, but Shiro interrupts him before he gets the chance to say anything.

“Keith. Tell me what happened.”

He says it in a tone that doesn’t allow any objection. Keith turns around, his face is still scrunched up in an angry scowl, but he knows better than to oppose Shiro. His eyes flicker in Lance’s direction and suddenly his eyes go wide in surprise.

Lance doesn’t know what to do, he never felt this helpless before, so he just sends Keith a tiny smile. And he knows that it probably looks more worried than reassuring, but Keith’s expression turns from angry to determined, when his gaze flickers back to Shiro.

“Alvarez accused me of being distracted by my boyfriend.”

And suddenly Lance can’t hear the crowd anymore.

“Yeah, you were waving and shit,” Alvarez sneers and spits on the ground. Keith closes his eyes for a second and takes a deep breath.

“That was before the game even started,” Keith says through gritted teeth.

Shiro’s voice is calm when he speaks, but somehow, he sounds even more dangerous than before.

“And that was enough to punch him?”

“He called me a faggot.”

The word is like a cold punch to Lance’s gut. His hands are trembling, and he feels how Hunk tenses beside him. Lance is waiting for Shiro to speak up, for him to say _anything,_ so he won’t have to see the look in Keith’s eyes. The way he holds his chin up high, waiting for the impact.

“Alvarez, what the fuck?!” It’s not Shiro, who speaks up though. It’s one of Keith’s teammates. Keith blinks a few times. He seems to be just as confused as Lance about this sudden outburst.

“Dude, are you serious? You can’t say shit like that!” another team member adds and soon everyone on the bank is nodding.

“Apologize!” someone says and Lance can feel how the icy grip on his stomach melts away. Alvarez pulls a face, when the rest of the team chimes in. He curses and rubs the back of his neck.

“Alright! Shut up, geez! I get it, I’m an asshole,” he yells and then turns to Keith to mumble: “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it.”

Keith just stares at him dumbfounded for a solid minute before he nods. Shiro puts his hands on his waist and raises his voice.

“We’re going to talk about that after the game. But for now, you have to clean up the mess you made. We have 20 minutes left to play and I expect you to stay focused.” He rambles on about their strategy for the rest of the game and Alvarez curses, but complies under Shiro’s fierce eyes.

Lance takes a deep breath and finally relaxes his grip on Hunk. His heart is still beating too fast in his chest and he desperately wants to hug Keith, hold him close and never let go.

“You okay?”, Hunk asks and he looks so worried that Lance can’t help but smile. “Yeah I’m fine, I was just… shocked.”

“Yeah, that was… something” Hunk looks at Keith and the same worried expression shows in his eyes. Lance wraps both of his arms around Hunk’s arm and presses into his side.

“Thank god, you’re here,” he sighs and Hunk chuckles, while leaning into Lance as well.

“We should go back to our seats.”

“I know,” Lance groans and looks to Keith one more time.

“Is it weird, that I’m kinda proud of him?” he sighs and he can feel how Hunk laughs.

“For beating someone up?”

“For standing up for himself.”

Hunk only hums in response and Lance stares at Keith, who puts on his helmet.

“The game’s about to start again, we should really go to our seats,” Hunk says.

“Okay.”

Keith turns around, before he goes back on the ice. His eyes find Lance’s and there’s a soft smile on his face. And now Lance can feel how a wide grin splits his lips.

“GO GET’EM BABE!”

“Hell, yeah!” Hunk adds and the whole team whips around to stare at them, but Lance couldn’t care less, because Keith’s face is flushed when he laughs aloud. And Lance swears he’s never seen anything more beautiful in his life.

Shiro shakes his head and sighs, but there’s a smile on his face, when Lance sticks out his tongue and shrugs.

Keith is unstoppable for the rest of the game.

 

* * *

 

“Hey, you! You can’t be here!”

“Lance I don’t think this is a good idea!” Hunk says while running and raising his hand in apology to the guy Lance just brushed aside.

“I don’t care!”

“We should just wait ‘til he comes out!”

“Hunk, I can’t wait anymore! This game took _forever_!”

“Still, I don’t think you should just burst into the changing room and-“

Lance doesn’t listen to the rest of the things Hunk says, because he opens the first door that says Locker room. He is immediately hit with humid and foul smelling air, and a bunch of half-naked guys staring at him in surprise.

Lance glances trough the room and sees their red and white uniforms. His eyes find three figures, talking in the back of the room. Keith and Alvarez are still wearing their full gear and they turn around when they hear the loud bang of the opening door.

Alvarez visibly flinches under the deadly glare Lance sends his way and Shiro sighs loud enough for everyone to hear.

But Lance is instantly distracted when Keith says his name in surprise.

“Lance? What are you doing here?”

And suddenly nothing else matters.

Lance only sees Keith.

Keith who takes a few steps into the room to meet Lance in the middle. Keith who gasps in surprise, when Lance flings his arms around his neck.

Keith with his eyebrows raised in question, with his hair glued to his sweaty forehead. Keith with blood drying in the corner of his mouth, Keith who freaking _reeks_.

But Lance doesn’t care about any of this, because he _loves_ him.

“Lance, I’m really gross, let me just-  ,“ Keith starts, but Lance cuts him off.

“Just, shut up.”

And then he does what he wanted to do from the very first moment he saw Keith in his hockey uniform, that fateful night in the emergency room.

He leans in and kisses him.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is it! :) I said it before but I can't say it often enough: Thank you so much for reading this. Seriously every single comment and kudo on this fic means so much to me. I never expected this stupid little story to get so much love haha :') All of your nice reactions gave me more confidence in my writing! :D And ho BOI I have so many things planned to write HAHA (Also originally I planned smut for this fic, but I chickened out lmao but... there will be more spicy things to come...) Also I'm working on something with my partner in crime [@sweetpopcorncat](http://sweetpopcornkat.tumblr.com/), seriously most of the things to come are her fault LMAO  
> So in the meantime check out my other fics :D I wrote a bunch of klance Oneshots!  
> THANK YOU SO MUCH! :)


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